Theological    Seminary, 

PRINCETON,    N.  J. 

BV  3625  .A6  1874 
Anderson,  Ruf us ,  1796-1880. 
History  of  the  missions  of 
the  American  Board  of 


A      DONATION 

FBOM 

deceived 


)jy7^>Usn<x^t^^  , 


HISTORY 


THE  MISSIONS 


AMERICAN    BOARD    OF    COMMISSIONERS 
FOR  FOREIGN   MISSIONS 


INDIA 


BY 

RUFUS  ANDERSON,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 

LATELY  FOREIGN  SECRETARY   OF   THE   BOARD. 


BOSTON: 
CONGREGATIONAL   PUBLISHING   SOCIETY. 

1874. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1874,  by 

Tue  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions, 

iu  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


RIVERSFDE,    CAMBRIDGE: 

STEREOTYPED     AND     PRINTED     BY 

U.    0.    UOUGUTON    AND   COMPANY. 


THSOLOGIG* 
PBEFAOE. 


The  first  mission  of  the  Board  was  in  India, 
and  the  history  of  its  missions  naturally  com- 
mences there.  Other  considerations  led  the 
writer  to  begin  with  the  Sandwich  Islands,1 
and  then  to  go  through  with  the  history  of 
the  Missions  to  the  Oriental  Churches.  The 
volumes  stand  properly  in  the  following  order : 
The  India  Missions,  the  Sandwich  Islands 
Mission,  and  the  Missions  to  the  Omental 
Churches.  It  may  be  hoped  that  others,  in 
due  time,  will  add  the  history  of  Missions  to 
the  North  American  Indians,  and  to  Africa, 
China,  and  Japan. 

While  advancing  years  deter  the  present 
writer  from  undertaking  the  history  of  other 
missions,  he  is  thankful  to  the  Giver  of  all 
good  that  he  has  been  thus  far  sustained  in 
a  labor  so  delightful.  And  he  gratefully  ac- 
knowledges   the    kind    reception    which    the 

1  See  Preface  to  the  Histoi-y  of  the  Missions  of  the  American  Board 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  p.  t'iii. 


iv  PREFACE. 

churches  have  given  to  the  volumes  already 
issued. 

When  it  was  said  at  the  outset,1  that  the 
missions  of  the  Board  might  be  embraced  in 
three  volumes,  the  number  and  importance  of 
the  facts  to  be  recorded  were  greatly  under- 
estimated. Though  they  have  been  much  con- 
densed thus  far,  the  history  of  several  missions 
remains  unwritten. 

A  tabular  view  of  Missionaries  to  India  is 
added,  showing  the  date  and  duration  of  their 
connection  with  their  respective  fields ;  and 
also  a  list  of  the  Publications  in  the  several 
missions,  and  a  copious  Index. 

The  author  gladly  acknowledges  his  obliga- 
tions to  several  friends,  conversant  with  the 
working  of  these  missions,  for  suggestions  that 
have  added  materially  to  the  value  of  the  his- 
tory. 

Should  the  facts  recorded  in  this  volume  in 
any  measure  strengthen  the  faith  of  others  in 
the  future  of  the  missionary  work,  as  they 
have  that  of  the  writer,  he  will  feel  that  he 
has  not  labored  in  vain. 

August,  1874. 

1  Preface  to  the  Sandwich  Islands  Mission,  p.  xiii. 


NOTE  EXPLANATORY  OF  THE  MAPS. 

The  Maps,  illustrative  of  the  three  principal  missions, 
were  drawn  by  missionaries  for  this  work.  The  one  for 
the  Madura  Mission  was  drawn  in  India,  with  great  care  to 
make  it  perfect;  the  others  in  this  country,  and  necessarily 
with  a  less  amount  of  labor.  The  following  statement  by 
Mr.  Capron,  of  the  Madura  Mission,  is  believed  to  be  appli- 
cable to  the  three  maps. 

In  deference  to  usage,  the  spelling  of  certain  well  known 
names  is  left  unchanged.  The  spelling  of  the  other  names 
is  a  transliteration  of  the  native  names,  with  the  aim  to 
give  a  nearly  accurate  representation  of  the  sound.  For 
this  purpose  it  should  be  mentioned,  that  the  vowels  are 
limited  to  two  sounds  each,  one  long  sound,  and  one  short 
sound,  as  follows  :  — 

a  short,  as  a  in  Cuba,  Cuban  ;  or  u  in  fun. 

a  long,  as  a  in  father,  far. 

e  short,  as  e  in  eclat,  fell. 

e  long,  as  e  in  cafe,  fete ;  or  a  in  fate. 

i  short,  as  i  in  happmess,  nin. 

I  long,  as  i  in  mosquito,  p^que ;  or  ee  in  feel. 

o  short,  as  o  in  polite,  wholly. 

6  long,  as  o  in  poet,  post. 

u  short,  as  u  in  congruous,  full. 

u  or  u  long,  as  u  in  ruin,  rule;  or  oo  in  fool. 

ai,  as  ai  in  aisle ;  but  ai  final,  as  ay  in  Monday. 

au,  as  in  the  German  Haws ;  or  ou  in  found. 


vi  NOTES  EXPLANATORY  OF  THE  MAPS. 

This  is  substantially  the  vowel  system  of  Sir  William 
Jones  and  of  later  Orientalists,  which  has  been  adopted, 
also,  by  some  Missionary  Societies,  and  is  increasingly  fol- 
lowed by  the  Missionaries.  It  is  less  important  to  indicate 
the  pronunciation  of  the  consonants,  except  to  say,  that 
they  have  in  general  the  same  sound  as  in  the  English 
alphabet. 


CONTENTS. 


MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 
PREFACE     


CHAPTER  I. 
The  American  Board  and  its  First  Missionaries. 
1810-1815. 
Formation  of  the  Board.  —  Its  Ecclesiastical   Connections.  — 
Events  leading  to  its  Formation.  —  Rise  of  its  First  Mission.  — 
The  Practical  Question.  —  The  Passages  engaged.  —  Ordina- 
tion of  the  Missionaries  and  their  Instructions.  —  Their  De- 
parture. —  Experiences  at  Calcutta.  —  Hostile  Attitude  of  the 
Government.  —  Escape  from  Calcutta.  —  Sickness  and  Death 
of  Mrs.  Newell.  —  Brief  Reunion  at  Port  Lewis.  —  The  Mis- 
sion becomes  Two  Bands. — Mission  to  the  Karens. —  Strug- 
gles for   a  Missionary  Residence  at  Bombay.  —  Flight  from 
Bombay  and   Return.  —  Commissioners    appointed    on    their 
Behalf.  —•Successful  Appeal    to    the    Governor.  —  Favoring 
Events  in  England 1 

CHAPTER  II. 
Opening  of  India  to  the  Gospel.  — 1758-1812. 
Early  Disposition  of  the  East  India  Company.  —  A  Remarkable 
Change.  —  Triumph  of  the  Opposition.  —  Charles  Grant.  —  A 
Counter  Influence  in  England.  —  A  less  Promising  but  more 
Effective  Agency.  —  William  Carey.  —  His  Efforts  and  Influ- 
ence. —  Backwardness  of  his  Ministerial  Brethren.  —  Forma- 
tion  of  a   Missionary   Society.  —  The  Antagonist  Forces.  — 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

Carey  designated  to  a  Mission  in  Bengal.  —  Unpropitious  Out- 
set.—  A  Kind  Providence.  —  Proposed  Mission  of  Mr.  Hal- 
dane.  —  Mr.  Grant's  Appeal  for  India.  —  Messrs.  Marshman 
and  Ward.  —  The  Missionary  Refuge  at  Serampore.  —  An  Effi- 
cient Protector.  —  The  Governor-general  pacificated.  —  College 
of  Fort  William. — Mutiny  at  Vellore,  and  its  Consequences. — 
Missionary  Development  in  England.  —  The  Great  Battle  of 
Missions.  —  Importance  of  the  Controversy.  —  Toleration  se- 
cured. —  Further  Agency  of  Charles  Grant.  —  The  Victory 
assured  by  the  Governor-general.  —  Subsequent  Protection  from 
the  East  India  Company.  —  Grateful  Recognition  of  Carey, 
Grant,  and  Wilberforce 22 

CHAPTER   III. 

Mission  to  the  Mahrattas.  — 1815-1826. 
Bombay.  —  The  Mahrattas  and  their  Subjugation.  —  Missionary 
Importance  of  these  Events.  —  Incipient  Measures.  —  Mr.  Nott's 
Return  Home.  —  The  Obstacles  to  be  overcome.  —  Why  employ 
Married  Missionaries. — Early  Preaching. —  Marriage  of  Mr. 
Hall.  —  Use  of  the  Press.  —  Comparative  Estimate  of  Schools. 

—  New  Missionaries.  — Interest  in  Schools.  —  The  First  Hope- 
ful Convert.  —  A  New  Governor,  and  his  Favorable  Disposition.* — 

—  Return  of  Mr.  Bardwell.  —  Death  of  Mr.  Newell.  —  Arrival 
of  a  Printer. — First  Native  Protestant  Place  of  Worship. — 
Interference  on  the  Continent.  —  Reception  of  a  New  Mission- 
ary. —  Death  of  Mr.  Nichols.  —  School  for  Jewish  Girls.  —  A 
Comparison. — Association  of  Missionaries.  —  Mr.  Hall's  Ex- 
cursion on  the  Continent.  —  Improvement  in  Worship.  —  Pub- 
lishing the  Scriptures.  —  Death  of  Mr.  Frost.  —  Visit  of  Mrs. 
Hall  to  the  United  States.  —  Death  and  Character  of  Mr. 
Hall.  —  Death  of  Mrs.  Hall 47 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Mission  to  the  Mahrattas.  — 1826-1834. 
State  of  the  Mission. —  Hopeful  Converts. —  New  Missionaries.  — 
A  Revised  New  Testament.  —  Mission  Chapel  Congregation.  — 


O 


CONTENTS.  ix 

Babajcc  a  Brahmin  Convert. — Roman  Catholics.  —  The  Mis- 
sionary Union.  —  Legacy  and  Church  Building.  —  Preaching 
by  the  Wayside.  —  Additions  to  the  Mission.  —  Popularity  of 
Girls'  Schools.  —  Schools  for  Brahmin  Boys.  —  Signs  of  Prog- 
ress.—  Interesting  Cases. — Death  of  Mr.  Garrett. — Death  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hervey.  — New  Station  at  Ahmednuggur,  and  its 
Advantages.  —  Babajee's  Marriage.  —  Dajiba  another  Helper. 
—  New  Church  and  Native  Officers.  —  Remarkable  Christian 
Woman.  —  Labors  on  the  Continent.  —  Public  Discussions  with 
Brahmins  and  others.  —  Rev.  D.  O.  Allen.  —  A  New  Mis- 
sionary. —  Extensive  Preaching  Tours.  —  Death  and  Char- 
acter of  Babajee. —  Death  of  Mrs.  Stone.  —  Change  in  the  Ser- 
vice of  Song.  —  More  Extensive  Tours.  —  New  Missionaries.  — 
Death  of  Mrs.  Ramsey,  and  her  Husband's  Return.  —  Mission- 
ary Devotedness  of  Mr.  Graves.  — Death  of  Mr.  Sampson.  — 
Return  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Read. —Mr.  Allen  at  Jalna.  —  Dis- 
covery of  a  Native  Christian  Society.  —  Interesting  Sacra- 
mental Commemoration.  —  The  Excavations  at  Ellora    ...     74 

CHAPTER  V. 
Mission  to  the  Mahkattas.  — 1835-1847. 
Temporary  Station  at  Jalna.  —  Seasonable  Liberality.  —  Baptism 
of    Two   Brahmins.  —  New   Missionaries.  —  The    Mahars.  — 
Mahar  Gurus. — Additions  to  the  Church.  —  Social  Position  of 
the  Mahars.  —  Deaths  of  Mrs.  Allen,  Mrs.  Burgess,  and  Mr. 
Graves.  —  Increased  Toleration.  —  Conversion  of  Ramkrishna- 
punt.  —  Case  of  Vishnu.  —  Union  of  the  Seminary  and  Eng- 
lish Schools.  —  A  Mahar  Guru  converted.  —  Conversion  in  the 
Mang  Caste.  —  Singular  Intolerance.  —  Salutary  Discipline.  — 
Death  of  Mrs.  Munger.  —  New  Missionaries.  —  Return  Home 
of  Mr.  French.  —  Native  Magazine.  —  Publication  of  the  Bible     \^s 
in  Mahratta.  —  The  Printing  Establishment.  —  Increased  Effi- 
ciency of  the  Native  Press 97 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
Mission  to  the  Mahrattas. — 1847-1854. 
Results  of  Boarding-schools.  —  The  Mission  Compound.  —  Li- 
censed Preachers. — An  Interesting  Convert.  —  New  Station  at 
Satara.  —  The  Law  Christianized. —  Changes  in  the  Mission.  — 
Lesson  in  Missionary  Policy. — Retirement  and  Death  of  Dr. 
Aflcn.  —  Deaths  of  Mrs.  Wood,  Mrs.  Fairbank,  and  Mrs.  Bur- 
gess.—  New  Station  at  Kolapur. —  A  Vast  System  of  Rail- 
ways.—  Government  Patronage  of  Education.  —  Increasing 
Interest  in  Schools.  —  Native  Periodical  Press.  —  Retirement 
of  Mr.  Burgess.  —  Voyage  and  Decease  of  Mr.  Hume.  —  His 
Character.  —  A  Native  Memorial  of  him 113 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Tamil  People.  The  Cetlon  Mission.  —  1815-1822. 
Origin  of  the  Mission.  —  The  Embarkation.  —  The  Arrival  — 
The  Field  to  be  occupied.  —  Previous  Occupation  by  the  Portu- 
guese, by  the  Dutch,  and  by  the  English.  —  Sudden  Relapse  to 
Idolatry.  —  Jaffna  described.  —  Favor  from  the  Government.  — 
Opening  of  Boarding-schools.  —  Preaching  in  Tamil.  — Failure 
of  Health.  —  Visit  to  Cape  Town.  —  Death  of  Mr.  Warren.  — 
Return  of  Mr.  Richards.  —  The  Mission  reinforced.  —  The 
Mission  Stations. —  Difficulties  in  remitting  Funds.  —  A  Print- 
ing Establishment  not  allowed,  and  the  Printer  banished.  — 
Action  of  the  Government  at  Home.  —  Excellent  Spirit  of  the 
Danish  Missionaries 129 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Tamil  People.  The  Cetlon  Mission.  — 1820-1832. 
Development  of  Schools. — Proposal  for  a  College.  —  Adverse 
Position  of  the  Government. —  Central  Boarding-school  for 
B0yS,  — English  Schools.  —  Central  Boarding-school  for  Girls. 
—  The  Schools  as  Converting  Institutions.  —  Revivals  of  Re- 
ligion, and  the  Results.  —  Ordination  of  Dr.  Scudder.  — Native 
Preachers.  —  Gabriel  Tissera,  Francis  Malleappa,  and  Nicholas 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Permander.  —  An  Influential  Marriage. —  Death  and  Character 
of  Mr.  Eichards.  —  Marriage  of  Mr.  Poor.  —  Slavery  in  Jaffna. 

—  Flourishing  Condition  of  the  Schools.  —  Bearing  of  Educa- 
tion on  the  Brahminic  Philosophy.  —  Perplexity  of  an  Old 
Brahmin.  —  The  Result. —Popularity  of  the  Higher  Schools. 

—  A  Destructive  Fire.  —  A  Large-hearted  Bishop.  —  Sir  Robert 
Wilmot  Horton  removes  the  Injunction  from  the  Mission.  —  Its 
Reinforcement 14^ 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Tamil  People.  The  Ceylon  Mission.  — 1832-1853. 
Batticotta  Seminary. —Death  of  Mrs.  Winslow.  —  Children  of 
Missionaries.  —  Death  of  Mr.  Woodward.  —  Resolve  of  Mrs. 
Woodward.  —  Gospel  Benevolence  illustrated.  —  New  Mission- 
aries. —  A  Destructive  Fire.  —  Consequences  of  Teaching  the 
English  Language.  —  Mr.  Poor's  Removal  to  Madura.  —  Suc- 
ceeded by  Mr.  Hoisington.  —  Disastrous  Reduction  in  the 
Schools.— An  Affecting  Scene.  —  Deaths  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Perry.  —  Seasonable  Aid  from  the  Government.  —  New  Mis- 
sionaries. —  Admissions  to  the  Church.  —  Necessary  Abbrevia- 
tions. —  Tamil  Dictionaries.  —  Painful  Developments  in  the 
Seminary.  —  Reconstruction  of  the  Institution.  —  Death  of  Mr. 
Apthorp.  —  Consultation  with  Returned  Missionaries.  —  Value 
of  the  Schools.  —  Value  of  the  Native  Helpers.  —  The  Oodoo- 
ville  Seminary.  —  Amount  of  Printing.  —  New  Missionaries. — 
Death  of  Mr.  Whittelsey.  —  Roman  Catholic  Persecution.— 
New  Missionaries.  — Death  of  Mrs.  Scudder. —  A  Good  Omen. 

—  The  Change.  —  Death  of  Mrs.  Apthorp.  —  Testimony  of  the 
Governor.  —  Return  of  Mr.  Minor.  —  Medical  Department.  — 
Accessions  and  Changes  .• 172 

CHAPTER  X. 
Tamil  People  on  the  Continent. 
The  Madura  Mission. —  1834-1853. 
Southern  India  delineated.  —  Why  made  the  Site  of  a  Mission.  — 
The  Preliminary  Measure.  — Commencement  of  the  Mission.  — 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

Mr.  Poor's  Removal  to  Madura.  —  Schools  and  Helpers.  —  En- 
largement of  the  Mission.  —  Deaths.  —  Absurd  Reports.  — 
•Seasonable  Aid  from  Government.  —  Death  of  Dr.  Steele. — 
The  Native  Helpers.  —  Government  Connection  with  Idolatry*/ 
dissolved.  —  Native  Estimate  of  the  Brahmins. — Death  of  Mr. 
Dwight  and  others.  —  The  Tranquebar  Mission.  —  Extraor- 
dinary Length  of  Missionary  Services.  —  Era  of  Modern  Mis- 
sions.—  The  Leipsic  Mission. — Consequences  of  a  Higher 
Evangelical  Policy.  —  Leading  Object  of  the  Mission.  —  Chris- 
tian Congregations  instituted. — Additions  to  the  Mission. — 
Death  of  Mr.  Lawrence.  —  Death  of  Mrs.  Muzzy.  —  New  Loca- 
tion of  the  Seminary.  —  Why  Government  Patronage  was  de-  • 
clined.  —  A  Pagan  Missionary.  —  Opposition  to  Caste.  — 
Transfer  of  a  Station  to  the  Mission.  —  Medical  Treatment.  — 
Revival  in  the  Seminary. — Preparandi.  —  A  New  Station. — 
Itinerant  Preaching.  —  Extent  of  the  Eield.  —  Admissions  to 
the  Church. —  Students  for  the  Ministry.  —  Other  Schools. — 
The  Medical  Dispensary.  —  The  Jesuit  Mission  from  1 606  to 
1776 194 

CHAPTER  XL 
Tamil  People  on  the  Continent. 
The    Madras   Mission.  —  1837-1864. 
Origin  of  the  Mission.  — Death  of  Mrs.  Winslow. — Early  Pro- 
ceedings. —  Purchase  of  a  Printing  Establishment.  —  Amount 
of  Printing.  —  Preaching  Tours.  —  Labors  at  Vellore.  —  Perils 
in  the  Wilderness. — Visit  to  America. — Admissions  to  the 
Church.  — Literary  and  other  Labors.  —  The  First  Missionary 
Son.  —  Productions   of    the   Press.  —  Conflict  with  Caste.  — 
Heathen  Opposition.  —  Enlightened  Policy  of  the  Government. 

—  The  Mission  reinforced.  —  Death  of  Mrs.  Scudder.  —  The 
Father  and  Son.  —  Mr.  Winslow's  Labors.  —  New  Version  of 
the  Tamil  Bible.  —  New  Station  at  Arcot.  —  Summary.  — 
Death  of  Dr.  Scudder.  —  Mr.  Winslow  visits  the  United  States. 

—  Reduction  of  the  Printing  Establishment.  —  The  Tamil 
Bible.  —  Completion  of  a  Tamil  and  English  Dictionary.  — 


CONTENTS.  xiil 

Pocket  Edition  of  the  Bible.  —Death  of  Dr.  Winslow.  —  His 
Character.  —  Sale  of  the  Establishment.  —  Discontinuance  of 
the  Mission.  —  Summary  View.  —  Mr.  Hunt's  Change  of  Des- 

220 

ignatioii 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Tamil  People.     The  Akcot  Mission.  — 1851-1857. 
Its  Origin.  — The  Ei  eld  occupied.  — Working  of  the  Mission.— 
Its  Transfer  to  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church 226 

CHAPTER   XIIL 
The  Mahratta  and  Tamil  Missions. 
Missionary  Conferences.  — 1854,  1855. 

Necessity  of  a  more  Varied  Knowledge  of  the  India  Missions.  — 
Advantages  of  Central  Positions.  —  When  Visits  to  Missions 
are  Desirable.  —  The  Deputation.  —  Intercourse  with  the  Mis- 
sions. —  Proceedings  of  the  Conferences,  and  Printing  of  the 
Same.  —  The  Mahratta  Conference.  —  Members.  —  Ordination 
of  the  First  Native  Pastor  in  the  Mission.  —  Reasons  for  the 
Delay.  —  On  Evangelists.  —  Development  of  Village  Churches. 

^^-Why  a  Distrust  of  Native  Piety.  —  Difficulty  in  Forming 
Village  Stations.  —  Change  in  the  High  School  at  Ahmednug- 
gur.  _  On^fative  Piety.  —  Self-sustaining  Churches.  —  Educa- 
tion of  Native  Pastors,  and  their  Salaries.  —  Ecclesiastical  Re- 
lations. —  Native  Preaching  Talent.  —  Results  in  the  Mahratta 
Mission.  —  The  Ceylon  Conference.  —  Subjects  discussed.  — 
Native  Congregations  and  Churches.  —  The  High  Schools.  — 
Ordination  of  the  First  Native  Pastor  in  the  Mission.  —  Pro- 
posed Multiplication  of  Churches.  —Native  Preaching  Houses. 

Modifications   in    the   Batticotta  Seminary  and  Oodooville 

Boarding-school.  —  The  Conference  misapprehended  at  Home. 
—  Special  Meeting  of  the  Board.  —  A  Committee  of  Thirteen, 
and  their  Investigations.— The  Result. —  The  Madura  Con- 

■  ferrnce.  —  Christian  Congregations.  —  Village  Schools.  —  Modi- 
fications in  the  Seminary.  —  English  High  School  at  Madura.  — 
First  Native  Pastor  in  the  Mission.  —  Conference  at  Madras 


XIV  CONTENTS. 

and  Arcot.  —  Othei  Missionary  Conferences.  —  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Conferences.  —  General  Missionary  Conferences  .     .     .  241 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Mission  to  the  Mahrattas. — 1854-1862. 
Tour  in  the   Godavari  Valley.  —  Reception  by  Christian  Vil- 
lagers. —  Preaching.  — Location  of  Missionaries.  —  Case  of  Mr. 
Bowen.  —  Accession  to  the  Mission.  —  Government  Schools. 

—  Itinerant  Preaching.  —  Interesting  Events.  —  A  Converted 
Gosavi.  —  Encouraging  Facts. — Mr.  Wilder  at  Kolapur. — 
Influence  of  the  Mutiny.  —  Successful  Efforts  at  Ahmednug- 
gur.  —  Yesuba  as  a  Devotee  and  as  a  Preacher.  —  Yesuba  Sa- 
lava.  —  Pastor  Modak's  Removal  to  Bombay.  —  Pastor  Hari- 
punt  at  Satara.  —  Kolapur.  —  As  a  Station  discontinued.  — 
Death  of  Mrs.  Wood.  —  Death  of  a  Moslem  Convert.  —  A 
Pastor  ordained  for  Ahmednuggur.  —  Generous  Aid  from  an 
English  Friend. —  Visit  from  the  Governor  of  Bombay. — 
Theological  Class. — Important  Step  in  Religious  Toleration. 

—  Jubilee  Meeting.  —  Erection  of  Chapels.  —  Persecution,  and 
Government  Protection.  —  Encouraging  Retrospect.  —  Increase 
in  Church  Membership.  —  Cause  of  the  Sudden  Increase 
of  Converts,  and  their  Character.  —  Who  are   the  Converts. 

—  Interesting  Facts.  —  Government  Protection.  —  Increasing 
Hopefulness  from  the  Higher  Castes.  —  Solapur  as  a  Station. 

—  Unexpected  Development  of  Benevolence.  —  Generous  Pecu- 
niary Aid 266 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Mission  to  the  Mahrattas. — 1862-1868. 
•^/  The  Native  Churches.  —  Native  Pastor  Ordained.  —  The  Kirttan. 

—  Death  of  Miss  Farrar.  —  New  Missionaries.  —  Official  Kind- 
ness. —  Death  of  Mrs.  Barker,  and  of  Mr.  Chapin.  —  Death 
and  Character  of  Haripunt.  —  An  Ecclesiastical  Union  formed. 

—  Death  and  Character  of  Mr.  Ballantine,  and  of  Mrs.  Ballan- 
\yi\x\Q.  —  Movement   for  Native    Pastorates.  —  Plea   of  Pastor 

Modak.  —  Ordination  of  Seven  such  Pastors.  — Death  of  Mrs. 
Harding,  and  of  Mr.  Munger 293 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Mission  to  the  Maiirattas.  —  1868-1873.^/^ 
Persecution.  —  New    Missionaries.  —  Native    Laborers.  —  Bible 
Women.  —  Efforts  of  Mrs.  Bissell.  —  Evidences  of  Progress.  — 
A  New  Responsibility.  —  A  Native  Christian  Alliance.  —  La-    v/ 
bors  of  an   Evangelist.  —  The  Mussulmans.  —  Accessions  to 
the  Church.  —  The  First  Self-supporting  Church.  —  A  Native     x/ 
Pastor. —  A  Summary  View.—  Great  Breach  of  Missionary 
Courtesy.  —  Visit  and  Labors  of  Dr.  J.  H.  Seelye.  —  Other 
English  Lecturing.— The  Estimated  Result  of  the  India  Mis- 
sions      307 

CHAPTER  XVTI. 

The  Tamil  People.  Ceylon  Mission.  — 1855-1867. 
The  Changes  in  the  Batticotta  Seminary.  —  The  Movement 
not  Retrograde.  —  English  Schools.  —  Native  English  High  V^"" 
School.  —  Position  of  the  Prudential  Committee.  —  Results 
of  a  Liberal  Education.  —  The  Theological  Seminary.  — 
Death  of  an  Old  Native  Christian. —  New  Missionaries.  —  A 
\/ Native  College  projected.— Advance  in  the  Mission.^ A  De- 
sirable Change.  —  Ordination  of  Native  Pastors^/-  Death  of 
Mr.  Meigs.  —  Interesting  Pastorate  at  Batticotta.  —  Letter 
from  the  Church.  —  A  Pleasing  Retrospect 327 

CHAPTER  XVTLL 
The  Tamil  People.    Ceylon  Mission.  — 1867-1873. 
Missionary    Printing.  —  Medical    Department.  —  Deaths    from 
Cholera.— Death  of  Mrs.  Sanders.  —  Interesting  View  of  the 
Mission.  —  Change   of  Native   Sentiment   as   to  Native  Pas- 
torates. —  Children  instead  of  the  Fathers. —Death  of  Mr. 
Sanders.  —  A  Pleasing  Incident.  —  Death  and  Character  of  Dr. 
Spaulding.  — Mrs.  Spaulding.— Native   Evangelical   Society,    y 
—  Board  of  Education.  —  The  Jaffna  College 345 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIX; 

Tamil  People  on  tiie  Continent. 
The   Madura  Mission.  —  1855-1862. 
Effect  of  the  Conference.  —  The    Seminary  Studies.  —  Higher 
Village  Schools.  —  The  Native  Pastorate.  —  Still  Further  Ad-  ^ 
vances.  —  Accession   of  Native   Pastors.  —  Disturbing  Influ- 
ences. —  Native  Churches.  —  Village  Congregations.  —  Native   v/ 
Fondness  for  Poetry.  —  Girls'  Boarding-school  at  Madura.  — 
Reinforcements  — Encouraging  Indications. —  An  Eccentric 
Native   Helper.  —  An   Extended   Revival.  —  Revival    at    the 
Seminary,   and    in    the   Madura    Boarding-school,  and  in  the 
Western  District.  —  Sudden  Death  of  Mr.  Scudder    .     .     .     .364 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Tamil  People  on  the  Continent. 
The   Madura  Mission.  —  1862-1873. 
Evidences  of  the  Decline  of  Idolatry.  —  One  of  the  Chief  Sup- 
ports of  Idolatry.  —  An  Itinerant  Ministry.  —  Accessions   to 
the  Mission.  —  Amount  of  Evangelical  Influence.  —  Interesting 
Schools.  —  The  Medical  Department.  —  Death  of  Mrs.  Ren- 
dall,  and  of  Dr.  Lord.  —  Death  and  Character  of  Mr.  Taylor. 
—  Prospective  Influence  of  Native  Women.  —  The  Seminary      ^ 
and  High  School.  —  A  Missionary  Daughter.  —  The  Field  for  * 

Women.  —  Death  of  Mr.  Penfield.  —  Native  Associations.  —  A 
Summary  View.  —  Decline  of  Heathenism.  —  A  Hopeful 
View 385 

Missionaries       407 

Publications       415 

Index 435 


PRIKCE, 


\TH5J0L  : 
MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  BOARD  AND   ITS  FIRST   MISSIONARIES. 
1810-1815. 

The  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  For- 
eign Missions  is  the  oldest  institution  in  the  Formationof 

°  the  Allien- 

United  States  for  sending  missionaries  to  can  Board. 
foreign  unevangelized  nations.  It  was  formed  at 
Bradford,  Massachusetts,  in  June,  1810,  by  the  Gen- 
eral Association  of  that  State.  The  immediate  cause 
of  its  formation  was  an  application  from  several 
young  men  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Andover, 
desirous  of  becoming  missionaries.  The  Board,  as 
originally  formed,  consisted  of  nine  members,  be- 
longing to  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut ;  and  the 
young  men  were  advised  to  put  themselves  under  its 
direction,  and  await  the  guidance  of  Providence. 
The  first  meeting  of  the  Board,  as  an  incorporated 
body,  was  in  Connecticut. 

The    connection    so    long    maintained    with    the 
Presbyterian  Church,  grew  out  of  a  sug-  its erwiesias- 

J  °  tical  connec- 

gestion,  at  its  second  meeting,  to  the  (Jen-  ,ions- 


2  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

eral  Assembly  of  that  church,  to  form  a  similar  body 
among-  themselves.  The  Assembly  replied,  that  the 
business  of  foreign  missions  would  be  better  man- 
aged by  a  single  Board;  that  the  Assembly's  engage- 
ments in  domestic  missions  made  it  inconvenient,  at 
that  time,  to  attempt  the  work  of  foreign  missions  ; 
and  that  their  churches  rejoiced  in  the  missions 
organized  by  the  American  Board,  and  would  aid  in 
their  support  to  the  extent  of  their  ability.  Upon 
hearing  this,  the  Board  elected  eight  commissioners 
from  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Others  were  added 
at  the  same  time  from  the  Congregational  Churches 
in  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  and  Rhode  Island, 
and  thus  the  Board  prepared  itself  to  act  as  a  na- 
tional institution.1 

The  rise  of  this  Board  among  a  large  body  of 
Events  tend-  Christian  churches  as  their  acknowledged 

jug  to  its 

formation,  agent,  was  by  no  means  a  fortuitous  event. 
Though  it  was  the  first  organization  of  the  kind  in 
this  country,  similar  associations  had  preceded  it  in 
England,  as  the  Baptist,  London,  and  Church  Mis- 
sionary Societies.  The  more  interesting  facts  con- 
nected with  these  institutions  had  been  published 
in  the  "  Massachusetts  Missionary  Magazine,"  com- 
menced in  1803;  in  the  "  Panoplist,"  commenced  in 

1  For  a  particular  account  of  the  origin,  charter,  constitution,  mem- 
bership, ecclesiastical  relations,  etc.,  of  the  Board,  see  Memorial  Vol- 
ume of  the  First  Fijly  Years  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions- 


THE  BOARD  AND  ITS  FIRST  MISSIONARIES-      3 

1805 ;  and  in  the  "  General  Assembly's  Missionary 
Magazine,"  commenced  also  in  1805.  In  that  year, 
Dr.  Griffin  preached  a  sermon  before  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  in  which  he 
eloquently  pleaded  for  the  heathen  world.  In  1807 
Dr.  Carey,  of  the  Serampore  Mission,  acknowledged 
the  gift  of  $6,000  to  his  mission  by  American  Chris- 
tians, in  consequence  of  losses  by  fire  at  Serampore. 
Dr.  Parish,  in  a  sermon  before  the  Massachusetts 
Domestic  Missionary  Society  in  1807,  spoke  of  a 
growing  conviction  of  the  value  of  Christianity, 
making  it  "a  good  time  to  send  missionaries  to 
every  nation,  to  extend  the  Redeemer's  kingdom." 
In  May,  1808,  the  Presbyterian  General  Assembly 
recommended  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  for  this, 
among  other  things,  "that  God  would  bless  the 
efforts  to  Christianize  the  heathen,  and  extend  the 
blessings  of  the  Gospel."  In  the  same  year,  Dr. 
Abiel  Holmes,  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in  an 
anniversary  discourse  in  Boston,  hailed  the  ap- 
proaching day,  "  when  the  Pagan  idolater  shall  cast 
his  idols  to  the  moles  and  to  the  bats;  when  the 
Indian  Powows  shall  be  silenced  by  the  songs  of 
Zion  ;  when  the  Vedas  of  the  Hindoo  and  the  Koran 
of  the  Mohammedan  shall  be  exchanged  for  the 
Holy  Bible  ;  when  the  religion  of  Brahma,  the  In- 
stitutes of  Menu,  the  rites  of  the  Lama,  the  Zend 
of  Zoroaster,  and  even  the  laws  of  Confucius,  shall 


4  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

be  superseded  by  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed 
God."  i 

With  such  experiences  amoug  the  more  eminent 
fathers  of  the  Congregational  and  Presbyterian 
churches,  what  more  natural,  more  inevitable  in- 
„.     ,  u       deed,  than  that  some  of  the  more  intelli- 

Rise  of  the  * 

mission.  gent  and  impressible  young  men  should 
catch  the  spirit,  and  propose  engaging  personally 
in  a  foreign  mission  ?  The  first  movement  of  this 
sort  was  among  the  Congregatioualists.  It  began 
with  Samuel  J.  Mills,  whose  self-consecration  dates 
as  early  as  1802.  At  Williams  College,  in  1807,  he 
unbosomed  himself  to  Gordon  Hall  and  others.  In 
1808,  those  young  men,  while  members  of  college, 
formed  a  society  "  to  effect,  in  the  persons  of  its 
members,  a  mission  or  missions  to  the  heathen." 
This  society  the  young  men  afterwards  carried  with 
them  to  the  Andover  Theological  Seminary,  where 
it  was  joined  by  Adoniram  Judson,  Samuel  Newell, 
and  Samuel  Nott,  graduates  of  as  many  different 
colleges.  The  streams  were  there  united  in  one, 
and  flowed  out  thence  into  the  heathen  world. 

It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  only  on 
the  high  places  of  Zion  had  the  evangelical  light 
then  fallen.  Only  a  few  among  the  ministers  or 
candidates  for  the  ministry,  and  still  fewer  among 
the  laymen,  had  intelligently  taken  hold  of  tbe 
work.     The  young  men  kept  their  society  a  secret, 

1  See  Life  of  Dr.  Samuel  Worcester,  vol.  ii.  chap.  2. 


THE  BOARD  AND  ITS  FIRST  MISSIONARIES.      5 

under  the  apprehension  that  the  idea  of  a  foreign 
mission  would  be  unpopular  in  the  churches  ;  and 
the  constitution  of  the  society  was  not  made  public 
for  a  long  time  afterwards. 

The  names  of  the  young  men  appended  to  the 
memorial  which  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Board, 
were  Adouiram  Judson,  Samuel  Nott,  Samuel  J. 
Mills,  and  Samuel  Newell.  James  Richards  and 
Luther  Rice  had  signed  the  paper,  but  their  names 
were  taken  off,  lest  the  association  should  be  alarmed 
by  the  number.  Gordon  Hall,  though  among  the 
earliest  to  consecrate  himself  to  the  work,  did  not 
come  to  the  seminary  in  time  to  take  a  promi- 
nent part  in  these  incipient  measures,  but  was  soon 
recognized  as  among  the  leaders.  Such  also  was 
Adouiram  Judson,  though  among  the  last  in  the 
time  of  his  self-consecration. 

The  practical  question  for  the  Board,  at  that  time, 
was  the  safety  of  undertaking  the  support  The  ractical 
of  these  young  men  as  missionaries.  It  iuestiou- 
now  appeared,  as  it  did  in  the  formation  of  the 
Board,  how  desirable,  in  great  enterprises,  is  the 
combination  of  youthful  ardor  with  the  wisdom  and 
caution  of  age.  The  Board,  while  approving  the 
purpose  of  the  young  men,  had  advised  them  to 
pursue  their  studies  until  the  finances  of  the  insti- 
tution should  justify  their  going  forward.  But  so 
anxious  were  they  to  be  on  their  way,  that  Mr. 
Judson,   sharing  largely  in  the  impatience  of  his 


6  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

brethren,  was  permitted  to  visit  England,  and  there 
learn  whether  the  Directors  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  would  assist  them. 

It  was  well  that  the  London  Society,  while  expres- 
sing- a  willingness  to  take  the  missionaries  under  its 
exclusive  direction,  declined  to  connect  itself  with 
the  American  Board  in  the  conduct  of  missions. 
The  phages  Matters  were  soon  brought  to  a  happy 
engaged.  issue.  Passages  to  India  were  offered,  both 
from  Salem  and  from  Philadelphia,  and  the  mission- 
aries were  pressing  for  leave  to  go. 

Samuel  J.  Mills,  it  was  thought,  would  be  more 
useful  to  the  cause    by  remaining-  longer 

Snmuel  J.  *  o  O 

MUls  at  home ;  and  he  found  his  grave  in  the 

ocean,  off  the  coast  of  Western  Africa,  while  on  a 
mission  in  the  interest  of  the  Negro  population  of 
this  country. 

On  the  6th  of  February,  1812,  Gordon  Hall, 
ordination     Adoiiiram  Judson,  Samuel  Newell,  Samuel 

of  the  mis- 
sionaries.       Nott,  and  Luther  Rice,  received  ordination 

as  foreign  missionaries  at  the  Tabernacle  Church  in 
Salem.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Woods, 
and  the  scene,  as  witnessed  by  the  author,  was  one 
never  to  be  forgotten.  Drs.  Woods,  Spring,  Morse, 
Griffin,  and  Worcester,  who  laid  their  hands  upon 
the  heads  of  the  five  missionaries,  and  the  mission- 
aries themselves,  have  all  gone  from  earth,  most  of 
them  long  since ;  though  Mr.  Nott  died  as  late  as 
the  year  1868. 


THE   BOARD  AND  ITS  FIRST  MISSIONARIES.      7 

This  ordination,  in  connection  with  the  sailing  of 
the  missionaries,  produced  a  great  effect  on  the 
Christian  community.  It  showed  that  the  way  to 
obtain  funds  is  to  go  boldly  forward  in  the  path  of 
duty.  Within  three  weeks  after  the  ordination,  the 
contributions  exceeded  86,000. 

The  instructions  of  the  Prudential  Committee  to 
the  missionaries  are  remarkable  for  their  Thpirin. 
forecast  and  wisdom ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  for  the  absence  of  positive  directions  as  to  the 
field  to  be  occupied.  On  that  point,  they  did  not 
know  what  to  say.  The  heathen  world  was  not  then 
open  and  known  as  now. 

At  Philadelphia,  where  Messrs.  Hall  and  Rice  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nott  embarked  in  the  ship  Their  depar. 
Harmony,  on  the  28th  of  February,  the  ture- 
churches  contributed  nearly  a  thousand  dollars. 
Messrs.  Judson  and  Newell,  with  their  wives,  sailed 
from  Salem,  in  the  brig  Caravan,  on  the  19th  of 
February.  These  were  the  only  opportunities  for  a 
passage  to  India  during  many  months,  as  war  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  com- 
menced in  the  following  June. 

The   Caravan   reached  Calcutta  on   the  17th  of 
June,  1812,  and  Christians  of  different  de-  E     rienMB 
nominations  gave  their  American  brethren 
a    kind    and    courteous    reception.      Among    those 
friends,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thomason,  an  Episcopal  cler- 
gyman, and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Carey,  of  the  Baptist  Mis- 


8  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

sion  at  Serampore,  deserve  special  mention.  The 
Rev.  David  Brown,  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  who 
would  have  been  a  cordial  friend,  died  three  days 
before  the  arrival  of  the  first  company. 

Twenty  years  had  elapsed  since  the  House  of  Com- 
Hostiie  at«-    mons  empowered  the  East  India  Court  of 

tude  of  the  .  .  . 

government.  Directors  to  close  India  against  education 
and  the  gospel;  and  desperate  efforts  were  now  being 
made  in  Parliament  to  extend  this  power  through 
another  twenty  years.  The  controversy  was  at  its 
height  in  England  when  the  American  missionaries 
arrived  at  Calcutta,  but  the  power  of  the  reforming 
influences  at  that  time  was  scarcely  suspected  in 
India.  Nor  did  the  India  rulers  rightly  estimate 
all  the  forces  with  which  they  had  themselves  to 
deal.  With  so  great  a  disparity  between  the  physi- 
cal force  of  the  governors  and  governed,  and  with 
no  sympathy  between  them,  the  rulers  naturally 
dreaded  whatever  tended  to  the  elevation  of  their 
subjects.  Commercial  freedom  they  dreaded,  as  en- 
dangering the  profits  of  their  trade ;  and  Chris- 
tianity, because  of  the  reforms  it  would  require. 
Yet  the  period  for  a  change  of  policy  had  come. 
Many  European  traders  had  already  forced  their 
way  into  Bengal,  and  the  manufacturing  and  com- 
mercial interests  of  England  had  become  too  strong 
to  allow  of  their  expulsion.  But  the  India  govern- 
ment supposed  it  could  still  exclude  the  gospel. 
Accordingly,  Messrs.  Newell  and  Judson,  immedi- 


THE  BOARD  AND  ITS  FIRST  MISSIONARIES.      9 

ately  on  their  arrival,  were  ordered  to  return  by  the 
Card  ran,  and  informed  that  the  vessel  would  not 
be  allowed  to  sail  without  them.1  They  were  thus 
thrown  into  great  perplexity  and  distress.  Their 
Christian  friends  at  Calcutta  and  Serampore  deeply 
sympathized  with  them,  and  earnestly  pleaded  for 
them  with  the  government  officials.  Special  prayer 
was  also  made  in  their  behalf.  The  order  was  at 
length  so  far  modified,  that  they  were  allowed  to  go 
to  any  place  not  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  East 
India  Company,  provided  they  went  at  once.2  But 
where  to  go,  they  knew  not.  Their  thoughts  had 
been  turned  somewhat  to  Burmah,  before  leaving 
home,  but  information  received,  after  landing,  dis- 
couraged a  movement  in  that  direction.  They  there- 
fore turned  their  eyes  westward.  Just  then  they  re- 
ceived letters. from  their  brethren  in  the  Harmony, 
dated  at  the  Isle  of  France,  stating  that  the  Gover- 
nor of  that  Island  was  desirous  of  having  mission- 
aries there,  and  on  the  neighboring  island  of  Mada- 
gascar. As  the  Isle  of  France  was  not  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Company,  Messrs.  Newell  and 
Judson  resolved  to  go  there  by  the  earliest  oppor- 
tunity. Accordingly,  on  the  4th  of  August,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Newell  embarked  for  that  island  in  a  vessel 
that  afforded  accommodations  for  only  two  passen- 

1  The  reader  will  understand,  that  this  was  not  because  they  were 
Americans,  bul  because  they  were  missionaries. 
-  Marehman,  vol.  i.,  p.  488. 


10  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

gers,  with  the  expectation  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jud- 
son  would  soon  follow. 

The  Harmony  arrived,  with  Messrs.  Hall,  Nott, 
and  Rice,  four  days  after  the  departure  of  Mr.  New- 
ell ;  and  meeting  with  the  same  reception  from  the 
government,  they  came  to  the  same  determination. 
They  were  detained  at  Calcutta,  however,  until  the 
latter  part  of  November.  An  unfriendly  official 
then  reported  them  as  being  still  in  the  country, 
and  the  government,  without  seeking  explanation  as 
to  the  cause  of  the  delay,  chose  to  regard  them  as 
having  forfeited  all  claim  to  further  indulgence,  and 
decided  to  send  them  to  England  by  the  fleet  then 
about  to  sail.  Mr.  Marshman  says  that  the  orders 
were  for  them  to  mess  with  the  gunner.  This,  to 
those  ladies  and  their  husbands,  would  have  been  a 
sort  of  "  middle  passage,"  and  it  was  right  for  them 
to  flee  from  such  oppression.  The  fleet  was  lying  a 
hundred  miles  below  the  city,  and  they  were  to  be 
sent  down  under  guard.1 

Messrs.  Judson  and  Rice,  hearing  of  a  vessel 
bound  to  the  Isle  of  France,  went  on  board 

Escape  from 

Calcutta.  u|-  mitlnight,  with  Mrs.  Judson,  having 
prevailed  on  the  commander  to  receive  them.  The 
police  followed  them  down  the  river,  and  forbade  the 
vessel's  going  to  sea  with  them  on  board.  They  ac- 
cordingly landed,  without  knowing  what  to  do.  But 
a  kind  Providence  had  interposed,  and  a  letter  was 

1  Marshman,  vol.  i.,  p.  489. 


THE  BOARD  AND  ITS  FIRST  MISSIONARIES.   11 

soon  put  into  their  bauds  with  permission  to  em- 
bark. Hiring  a  boat,  and  rowing  day  and  night, 
they  overtook  the  vessel  just  as  she  was  preparing 
to  weigh  anchor  for  the  last  time.  It  appears  that 
the  Governor-general  (Lord  Minto)  on  being  in- 
formed of  their  flight,  recollected  that  he  had  al- 
ready given  them  permission  to  go  to  the  Isle  of 
France. 

Messrs.  Hall  and  Nott  effected  their  escape  also, 
not  without  suspicion  of  a  connivance  on  the  part  of 
the  authorities.  They  had  received  what  was  called 
a  general  pass,  and  obtained  passage  in  a  vessel 
hound  to  Bombay,  but  to  touch  at  Ceylon,  and  were 
regularly  reported  as  passeugers.  The  police  made 
search  for  them,  but  not  where  they  must  have  been 
known  to  be.  Their  voyage  was  long,  and  their 
funds  running  low,  they  decided  to  incur  the  risk  of 
proceeding  to  Bombay,  where  they  arrived  in  Febru- 
ary, 1813,  after  a  passage  of  eleven  weeks. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Newell's  passage  to  the  Isle  of 
France  was  long,  perilous,  and  distressing,  sickness  and 
They  were  driven  about  the  Bay  of  Bengal  Mrs.  Neweii. 
for  a  month,  and  at  length  the  vessel  sprung  a  leak, 
and  was  obliged  to  put  into  Coringa,  on  the  Coro- 
mandel  coast,  for  repairs.  This  was  well  for  Mrs. 
Newell,  as  it  gave  opportunity  for  her  to  recover 
from  a  dangerous  illness.  On  the  19th  of  Septem- 
ber they  reembarked,  hoping  for  a  short  passage  to 
the  Isle  of  France.     Three  weeks  alter  leaving  Co- 


12  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

ring-a,  and  before  reaching  the  end  of  the  voyage, 
Mrs.  Newell  gave  birth,  prematurely,  to  a  (laughter. 
In  a  storm  both  she  and  her  infant  took  cold,  and 
the  babe  soon  died.  The  mother  was  thrown  into  a 
consumption,  and  not  long  after  arriving  at  Port 
Louis,  the  husband  found  himself  compelled  to  re- 
linquish all  hope  of  her  recovery.  When  informed 
of  the  near  approach  of  death,  her  response  was, 
"  Glorious  intelligence."  She  said  she  had  never 
repented  leaving-  her  native  country,  and  that  the 
consideration  of  having  left  it  for  the  cause  of 
Christ,  now  aiforded  her  great  consolation.1  She 
died  on  the  30th  of  November,  1812,  and  an  iron 
railing-  —  lately  renewed — marks  the  place  of  her 
burial.  The  letter  of  Mr.  Newell  to  Mrs.  Atwood, 
the  mother  of  his  wife,  was  read  at  the  time  with 
deep  interest  by  thousands ;  and  there  are  thousands 
now,  after  the  lapse  of  sixty  years,  who  would  be  in- 
terested in  its  perusal. 

Mrs.  Newell  probably  accomplished  more  by  what 
seemed  her  untimely  death,  than  she  could  have 
done  by  a  long  life.  The  memorial  of  her  cultivated 
mind  and  unwavering-  devotion  to  the  missionary 
cause,  soon  afterwards  published  by  Dr.  Woods,  se- 
cured for  her  a  high  place  in  the  affection  of  the 
Christian  community,  which  she  still  retains.2 

Messrs.  Judson  and  Rice  were  detained  at  Calcutta 

1  Memoir  of  Mrs.  Harriet  Newell,  p.  92. 

3  The  eighth  edition  of  this  Memoir  now  lies  before  me. 


TEE  BOARD  AND  ITS  FIRST  MISSIONARIES.  13 
till  the  30th  of  November,  the  day  of  Mrs.  Newell's 
death,  and  arrived  at  Port  Louis  on  the  jjj* 
17th  of  January,  finding  their  bereaved  po«  Louis. 
brother  of  course  in  great  affliction.  They  were  to- 
gether about  a  month,  when  Mr.  Newell  embarked 
for  Ceylon,  and  they  never  met  again  on  earth. 

The  missionaries  now  formed  two  bands.     Indeed 
thev  had  become  such  very  soon   alter  ar-  The  raission 

J  _  .  -vmn         o     K  two  bauds. 

riving  at  Calcutta.     On  the  27th  ot  Aug- 
ust Mr.  Judson  wrote  to  the  Baptist  missionaries  at 
Serampore,  that  he  and  Mrs.  Judson  had  changed 
their  sentiments  on  the  subject  of  baptism,  and  de- 
sired to  be  baptized  by  immersion.      Mr.  Rice,  not 
long  after,  made  the  same  request.     We  now  see 
how  these  trials,  so  inscrutable  at  the  time,  contrib- 
uted to  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  in  that  part  of 
the  world.     It  was  the  divine  purpose  that  the  mis- 
sion should  have  a  far  more  extended  influence  for 
o-ood  than  had  been  originally  contemplated.     The 
two  brethren  withdrew  from  their  connection  with 
the  Board  ;  and,  at  the  Isle  of  France,  decided  that 
Mr  Rice  return  to  the  United  States  to  enlist  the 
Baptist  churches  in  foreign  missions,  in  which  he 
happily  succeeded.    Mr.  Judson's  attention  was  now 
turned  to  Pulo  Penang;  and  as  there  was  no  oppor- 
tunity to  sail  thither  from  Port  Louis,  he  went  with 
his  wife   to   Madras,  where   they  were   once    more 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  East  India  Company. 
Their  only  resort  was  a  vessel  bound  to   Rangoon. 


14  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

In  tins,  after  a  tempestuous  and  dangerous  voyage, 
they  arrived  at  that  city  on  the  13th  of  July. 

Such  was    the   providential   arrangement   for  an 
me  mission    American  Baptist  mission  to  Burmah  and 

to  the 

Karens.  the  Karens.  The  unpleasant  feeling  among 
the  supporters  of  the  American  Board  occasioned 
hy  the  unexpected  division  of  the  mission,  gave 
place  at  length  to  gratitude  on  seeing  the  beneficent 
designs  of  the  Head  of  the  Church. 

The  situation  of  Messrs.  Hall  and  Nott,  at  Bom- 
straggies  for  )jay   was  seriously  embarrassed  by  the  arri- 

a  missionary  J  *  J  J 

BomC at  val  of  intelligence,  that  the  United  States 
had  declared  war  against  Great  Britain.  The  dec- 
laration was  made  about  the  time  of  their  arrival  at 
Calcutta ;  but,  happily  for  them,  there  was  then  no 
ocean  telegraph  with  its  rapid  transmission  of  in- 
telligence. It  was  probably  in  consequence  of  this 
outbreak  of  war  that  the  Supreme  Government 
wrote  to  Sir  Evan  Nepean,  Governor  of  Bombay,  — 
a  man  of  liberal  views,  and  a  friend  of  Mr.  Charles 
Grant,  —  directing  him  to  send  the  American  mis- 
sionaries to  England.  The  Governor  was  exceed- 
ingly reluctant  to  carry  out  these  orders,  and  sus- 
pended the  execution  of  them,  in  consideration  of 
the  illness  of  Mrs.  Nott  and  of  Mr.  Hall ;  but  when 
informed  of  their  convalescence,  he  engaged  a  pas- 
sage for  them  at  an  expense  of  ,£400.  William  T. 
Money,  Esq.,  was  in  the  confidence  of  Sir  Evan,  and 
proved  a  very  valuable  friend  to  the   missionaries, 


THE  BOARD  AND  ITS  FIRST  MISSIONARIES.   15 

both  in  India,  and  afterwards  in  England.  He  ad- 
vised them  to  explain  their  case  to  the  Governor. 
They  did  so  ;  and  their  memorial  was  so  satisfactory, 
that  he  wrote  in  their  behalf  to  the  Governor-gene- 
ral. A  new  difficulty  now  arose.  A  schooner,  called 
the  Alligator,  had  arrived  at  Calcutta,  from  Salem, 
bringing  books,  letters,  and  funds  for  the  mission- 
aries, with  a  letter  from  Sir  John  Borlase  Warren, 
Admiral  of  the  British  fleet  on  the  Halifax  station, 
describing"  the  Alligator  as  a  missionary  vessel,  sent 
out  to  communicate  with  American  missionaries  in 
India,  and,  as  such,  granting  her  protection.  Men- 
tion is  made  of  this  vessel  in  the  Report  of  the 
Board  for  1813,  and  there  is  evidence  of  interest 
having  been  used  by  the  Prudential  Committee  with 
the  Admiral,  to  procure  protection  for  her;  but  we 
have  no  copy  of  the  precise  terms  used  by  the  Ad- 
miral in  speaking  of  the  vessel.  She  was  seized, 
condemned,  and  her  crew  were  sent  to  England  as 
prisoners  of  war,  in  the  belief  that  she  had  forfeited 
her  neutral  character  by  cruising  off  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  to  apprise  American  vessels  of  the  dec- 
laration of  war.  The  government  allowed  the  let- 
ters and  supplies  to  be  forwarded  to  Bombay,  but 
took  occasion  to  suspect  some  political  plot  in  the 
mission,  under  the  pretense  of  religion,  and  renewed 
the  order  for  sending  the  missionaries  to  England. 
Their  passages  were  accordingly  engaged  in  a  vessel 
then   about   to   sail.      In    another   memorial    they 


16  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

showed  to  the  Governor,  that  they  had  no  connec- 
tion with  the  war. 

Receiving  a  letter  from  Mr.  Newell,  then  in  Cey- 

Theyflee       Ion,  favoring  their  coming-  to  that  island, 
from  Bom- 
^y-  which  was   under  the  government  of  the 

Crown,  they  asked  permission  to  go  thither.  Not 
obtaining  this  permission,  they  saw  no  way  of  re- 
maining in  the  East,  but  by  departing  secretly  for 
that  island.  Lieut.  John  Wade,  an  Aide  to  the  Com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  Bombay  Station,  regarded 
them  as  the  means  of  his  conversion,  and  informed 
them  of  a  vessel  to  sail  in  a  few  hours  for  Colombo, 
in  Ceylon.  He  made  all  needful  arrangements,  and 
saw  them  safely  on  board  the  vessel  at  the  mouth  of 
the  harbor.  Mrs.  Nott  and  her  child  remained  be- 
hind. After  they  had  gone,  Mr.  Wade  prepared  and 
circulated  a  defense  of  their  conduct,  though  at  a 
personal  sacrifice.1 

"  In  reflecting  on  our  present  situation,"  Mr.  Hall 
wrote,  during  the  voyage  to  Cochin,  "  I  have  fears 
lest  we  have  sinned  in  leaving  Bombay  as  we  have. 
Perhaps  we  ought  to  have  waited  and  trusted  in  the 
Lord  to  deliver  us  in  his  own  way.  Yet,  after  all,  I 
know  not  why  it  was  not  as  right  for  us  to  escape 
from  Bombay,  as  it  was  for  Paul  to  escape  from 
Damascus." 

An  interesting  event  is  noted  by  Mr.  Hall  in  his 
journal,  showing  the  care  of  a  kind  Providence.    As 

1  Bardwell's  Life  of  Gordon  Hall,  p.  53. 


THE  BOARD  AND  ITS  FIRST  MISSIONARIES.   17 

they  were  leaving  the  small  boat  to  go  on  board  the 
native  vessel,  their  young  friend,  Lieutenant  Wade, 
suddenly  thought  of  the  possibility  of  their  landing 
on  the  coast,  and  wrote  with  his  pencil  to  an  officer, 
to  whom  he  had  formerly  named  the  missionaries, 
"  Take  good  care  of  my  friends  Hall  and  Nott," 
which  soon  proved  of  essential  service  ;  for  they  had 
not  been  long  at  sea  before  they  learned  that  the 
destination  of  their  vessel  was  Quilon,  on  the  coast, 
and  not  Ceylon,  so  that  they  were  without  funds  and 
without  friends.  Having  persuaded  the  captain  to 
land  them  for  a  few  hours  at  Cananore,  they  were 
kindly  received  by  Colonel  Lockhart,  the  officer 
above  named,  who  assisted  them  in  negotiating  a 
draft  on  Bombay,  and  gave  them  a  favorable  intro- 
duction to  Cochin.  They  landed  at  Cochin  on  the 
30th  of  October,  and  were  received  by  Mr.  Pearson, 
the  magistrate  of  the  place,  with  great  kindness, 
and  provided  with  gratuitous  accommodations  ;  and, 
while  waiting  for  a  passage  to  Ceylon,  they  visited 
the  Jews  and  Syrian  Christians  in  that  neighbor- 
hood. 

But  new  troubles  awaited  them.  They  were  ex- 
pectiug,  on  the  5th  of  November,  to  leave  the  next 
morning,  when  their  kind  host  informed  them  that 
he  had  received  orders  from  Bombay  to  see  that 
they  were  returned  to  that  place  by  the  first  oppor- 
tunity. "  Thanks  unto  God,"  writes  Mr.  Hull, 
"  none  of  these  things  move  me  !     I  find  pleasure 

2 


18  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

in  the  reflection,  that  God  has  ordered  this  for  some 
wise  and  good  end.  He  breaks  up  our  plans  only 
that  He  may  accomplish  his  own,  which  are  infi- 
nitely better."  * 

Sir  Evan  Nepeau  was  not  well  pleased  with  their 
Are  brought  private  departure  from  Bombay,  as  it  might 

back  to  Horn-  .  , 

bay.  subject  hi  in  to  censure  from  the  General 

Government  for  imputed  connivance,  or  delinquency. 
After  reaching  Bombay  they  were  confined  ten  days 
to  the  vessel,  and  then  were  brought  to  the  police 
office,  and  required  to  sign  a  bond,  in  the  sum  of 
four  thousand  rupees,  not  to  leave  the  place  without 
permission.  This  they  declined  to  do.  They  also 
refused  to  give  their  parole  to  the  same  effect,  or 
even  to  promise  that  they  would  remain  till  Mon- 
day.2 Being  remanded  to  the  ship,  they  sent  to  the 
Governor  a  respectful  and  very  able  memorial,  with 
which  he  was  so  far  satisfied  as  to  allow  them  to  oc- 
cupy a  house  in  the  city. 

Meanwhile   the    Prudential    Committee   at  home 
commission-  were  doing  everything  in  their  power  for 

ers  on  their  o  j  o  r 

Jotatedap"  the  relief  of  the  mission.  The  Hon.  John 
H.  Harington,  and  Drs.  Carey  and  Brown,  were 
requested  to  act  as  their  committee  at  Calcutta;  but 
before  the  arrival  of  their  communication,  Dr.  Brown 
was  dead,  and  Judge  Harington  was  away.  On 
hearing  of  the  death  of  Dr.  Brown,  they  appointed 

1  Hfemoir  of  Gordon  Hall,  p.  57. 

2  Tracy's  History  of  the  American  Board,  p.  42. 


THE  BOARD  AND  ITS  FIRST  MISSIONARIES.  19 

the  Rev.  Thomas  Thomason  to  supply  the  vacancy, 
and  he  with  Dr.  Carey  requested  the  Hon.  George 
Udny,  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Supreme 
Council  at  Calcutta,  to  act  in  the  place  of  Judge 
Harington.  The  services  rendered  by  these  com- 
missioners are  gratefully  remembered. 

On  the  16th  of  December  their  friend,  Mr.  Money, 
informed  the  two  brethren  that  he  had  just  been 
with  the  Governor,  who  stated  that  no  orders  hud 
been  received  from  Calcutta  concerning  their  stay, 
and  being  still  under  positive  orders  of  the  Supreme 
Government  to  send  them  away,  he  must  now  send 
them.  On  the  20th,  the  senior  magistrate  of  police 
officially  notified  them,  that  a  passage  was  to  be  pro- 
vided for  them  to  England  on  board  a  vessel  which 
was  to  sail  after  two  days.-     At  this  critical   successful 

appeal  to  the 

moment  Messrs.  Hall  and  Nott  made  an  governor. 
appeal  to  his  Excellency,  not  only  as  Governor,  but 
:is  a  man  and  a  Christian,  which  has  always  been 
admired  for  its  ability.  The  closing  paragraph 
should  have  a  place  in  history.  "  It  is  our  ardent 
wish,"  they  say,  "that  your  Excellency  would  com- 
pare, most  seriously,  such  an  exercise  of  civil  au- 
thority upon  us  with  the  general  spirit  and  tenor  of 
our  Saviour's  commands.  We  most  earnestly  entreat 
you  not  to  send  us  away  from  these  heathen.  We 
entreat  you  by  the  high  probability  that  an  official 
permission  from  the  Supreme  Government  for  us  to 
remain  here  will  shortly  be  received.     We  entreat 


20  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

you  by  the  time  and  money  already  expended  on  our 
mission,  and  by  the  prayers  and  hopes  attending-  it, 
not  utterly  to  defeat  its  pious  object  by  sending-  us 
from  the  country.  We  entreat  you  by  the  spiritual 
miseries  of  the  heathen,  daily  perishing  before  your 
eyes,  and  under  your  Excellency's  government,  not 
to  prevent  us  from  preaching-  Christ  to  them.  We 
entreat  you  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  which  He  shed  to 
redeem  them.  As  ministers  of  Him,  who  has  all 
power  in  Heaven  and  on  earth,  and  who  with  his 
ascending  voice  commanded  his  ministers  to  go  and 
teach  all  nations,  we  entreat  you  not  to  prohibit  us 
from  teaching  these  heathen.  By  that  holy  religion 
through  which  you  hope  to  be  saved,  we  entreat  you 
not  to  hinder  us  from  preaching  it  to  these  perish- 
ing idolaters.  By  all  the  solemnities  of  the  judg- 
ment day,  when  your  Excellency  must  meet  your 
subjects  before  God's  tribunal,  we  entreat  you  not  to 
hinder  us  from  preaching  to  them  that  Gospel, 
which  is  able  to  prepare  them,  as  well  as  you,  for 
that  awful  day We  entreat  your  Ex- 
cellency not  to  oppose  the  prayers  and  efforts  of  the 
Church,  by  sending  back  those,  whom  it  has  sent 
forth  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  preach  his  gospel 
among  the  heathen  ;  and  we  earnestly  beseech  Al- 
mighty God  to  prevent  such  an  act,  and  now  and 
ever  to  guide  your  Excellency  in  that  way  which 
shall  be  most  pleasing  in  his  sight." 

The  appeal  was  so  far  successful  that  the  brethren 


THE  BOARD  AND  ITS   FIRST  MISSIONARIES.    21 

received  official  notice,  next  morning-,  that  the  Gov- 
ernor would  await  further  instructions  from  Calcutta. 
This  note  was  dated  December  21,  1813. 

The  occasion  for  this,  humanly  speaking-,  we  must 
seek  in  events  then  transpiring  in  England,  of  which 
vague  rumors  must  have  already  reached  India.  As 
these  events  involved  the  opening'  of  India  to  the 
gospel,  they  should  have  an  explicit,  though  con- 
cise, statement  in  this  history,  which  will  be  given 
in  the  next  chapter.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  open- 
ing of  India  and  the  entrance  of  the  American  Mis- 
sion were  contemporaneous  events. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   OPENING  OF   INDIA   TO   THE   GOSPEL. 
1758-1812. 

The  East  India  Company  received  a  charter  from 
Queen  Elizabeth  in  the  year  1600.  It  was  formed 
for  purposes  of  trade,  and  while  only  a  commercial 
Ttseari  dis-  uou"y  it  seems  to  have  taken  considerable 
position.  interest  in  the  religious  instruction  of  the 
natives.  A  few  missionaries  were  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed to  India  in  its  ships,  and  were  encouraged  in 
their  labors.  A  similar  spirit  was  evinced  by  the 
English  Parliament. 

This  favorable  disposition  continued  until  the  cele- 
a  rem  irk-      brated  battle  of  Plassey,  in  1758.     But  as 

able  change.      ^^     ^     ^     military    geiliuS     Of    CHve    had 

transformed  the  company  of  merchants  into  sove- 
reigns of  a  great  empire,  all  desire  to  impart  knowl- 
edge to  the  people  of  India  ceased,  and  repug- 
nance to  efforts  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen 
seemed  to  increase,  as  British  influence  extended 
and  the  facilities  for  doing  good  were  multiplied. 
Whether  this  was  owing  to  ignorance  of  the  Gospel, 


THE   OPENING   OF  INDIA    TO    THE   GOSPEL.   23 

or  aversion  to  it,  — though  most  probably  to  both,  — 
the  great  body  of  the  "  old  Indians,"  as  those  who 
had  resided  long-  in  India  were  called  after  returning 
home,  came  at  length  to  regard  its  introduction  into 
India  with  even  morbid  apprehension.  There  were 
intelligent  men  who  did  not  share  in  these  views, 
and  some  who  attained  to  distinction. 

The  charter  of  the   East  India  Company  had  to 
be  renewed  by  Parliament  once  in  twenty  „  „.,, 

*  •>      Hostility  to 

years,  and  a  clause  had  been  inserted  in  missI0QS- 
the  proposed  charter  for  the  year  1792,  favoring  the 
sending  of  missionaries  and  schoolmasters  to  India. 
The  Court  of  Directors  in  England  had  then  become 
crowded  with  "  old  Indians,"  and  the  British  empire 
in  the  East  seemed  to  them  likely  to  melt  away  as 
soon  as  the  ministers  of  religion  touched  its  shores. 
Their  opposition  had  its  parallel  only  in  that  put 
forth  by  the  same  class,  on  a  similar  occasion,  twenty 
years  later. 

The  clause  was  omitted,  and  India  was  left,  for 


another   long    period,   to   the   mercies   of  Triumph  of 
Leadenhall  Street.  tion. 

The  chief  originator  of  the  movement  for  opening 
India  to  the  Christian  religion,  had  been  „,  , 
Mr.  Charles  Grant.  Going  thither  at  an  Gw"t- 
early  age,  he  was  appointed  in  1773  a  writer  in  the 
Bengal  establishment,  and  rose  to  be  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Trade  in  Calcutta.  He  early  devoted 
himself  to  the  moral  aud  religious  improvement  of 


2i  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

the  natives,  and  was  himself  a  living'  recommenda- 
tion of  the  gospel.  In  1786  he  drew  up  a  plan  for 
a  "  Mission  to  Bengal,"  and  after  a  vain  endeavor  to 
gain  the  approval  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  the  Governor- 
general,  he  sought,  through  Romaine,  Newton,  Fos- 
ter, Cecil,  and  Simeon,  to  secure  the  aid  of  Chris- 

a  counter  tians  in  England.  These  gentlemen  ad- 
influence  in 

England.  dressed  a  letter  to  William  Wilberforce, 
soliciting  his  cooperation  in  Parliament.  The  letter 
was  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Grant,  and  appears  to  have 
been  the  first  occasion  on  which  Wilberforce's  at- 
tention was  specially  drawn  to  the  subject  of  mis- 
sions to  India.  The  project  languished,  however, 
till  the  return  of  Mr.  Grant  to  England  in  1790. 
He  then  succeeded,  with  the  aid  of  Wilberforce,  in 
bringing  the  question  distinctly  before  the  English 
Government ;  but.  with  the  result  already  indicated. 

Yet  God  was  preparing  an  agency,  at  that  time, 
£in"but°m"  m  a  most  unpromising  quarter,  which  was 
u'vTagfncy.    to  lead  the  way  to  victory  and  triumph. 

William  Carey  was  born  in  a  village  of  North- 
wiiuam  amptonshire,  on  the  17th  of  August,  1761. 
Carey.  jjjs  faf.ner  was  schoolmaster  of  the  village, 

and  he  received  what  was  then  regarded  in  country 
villages  as  a  good  education.  His  scientific  tastes 
were  exhibited  at  an  early  age.  His  room  was 
crowded  with  insects  collected  to  mark  their  devel- 
opment, and  he  never  walked  abroad  without  scru- 
tinizing  the  hedges,  and    minutely  examining  the 


THE  OPENING  OF  INDIA    TO   THE   GOSPEL.    2~> 

structure  of  every  plant  he  gathered.  Though 
rustic  iu  his  manners,  his  appearance  was  prepos- 
sessing, and  his  more  intelligent  friends  thought 
they  discerned  in  him  the  seeds  of  future  promise. 
At  the  age  of  twelve,  having  ohtained  a  Latin 
vocabulary,  he  committed  nearly  the  whole  of  it  to 
memory,  and  carefully  studied  the  brief  sketch  of 
a  grammar  in  the  introduction.1 

As  his  parents  were  poor,  he  was  bound  appren- 
tice, at  the  age  of  fourteen,  to  a  shoemaker.  In  a 
small  collection  of  books  iu  the  shoemaker's  shop, 
was  a  commentary  on  the  New  Testament,  inter- 
spersed with  Greek  words,  which  he  copied,  and  took 
for  translation  to  an  educated  man  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  this  was  the  commencement  of  those 
linguistic  studies  which  so  distinguished  his  after 
life.  His  master  died  after  he  had  served  as  an 
apprentice  two  years,  and  he  engaged  himself  as  a 
journeyman  shoemaker  to  one  of  the  flock  of  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Scott,  the  commentator.  His  pastor 
was  impressed  by  his  intelligence  and  modesty,  and 
used  to  remark  that  the  young  man  would  prove  no 
ordinary  character.  He  attended  Mr.  Scott's  min- 
istry at  Ravenstone,  and  regarded  his  conversion  as 
the  result  of  God's  blessing  on  those  ministrations. 
Up  to  this  time  his  connection  had  been  with  the 
Church  of  England.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  he 
joined   a  small  independent  church  at   Hackleton, 

1  Marshman's  Life  of  Carey,  vol.  i.  p.  1. 


26  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

and  soon  after  commenced  preaching"  at  that  village, 
which  he  continued  for  three  years  and  a  half,  going 
once  a  month  to  preach  at  his  native  village,  ten 
miles  distant.  During  this  time  a  change  in  his 
views  led  him  to  join  the  Baptists.  Dr.  John  Ryland 
makes  this  statement  of  his  baptism  :  "  On  the  5th 
of  October,  1783,  I  baptized  a  poor  journeyman 
shoemaker  in  the  river  Nen,  a  little  beyond  Dr. 
Doddridge's  chapel  in  Northampton." 

Mr.  Carey's  acquaintance  with  the   Rev.  Andrew 
Carey's  Fuller  of  Kittering,  his  future  associate  in 

efforts  and  .      .  1f,Q- 

influence.  the  cause  of  missions,  commenced  m  1/bf, 
and  continued  to  the  close  of  Mr.  Fuller's  career  in 
1815.  The  perusal  of  "  Cook's  Voyage  round  the 
World  "  led  him  to  contemplate  the  moral  degrada- 
tion of  the  heathen,  and  to  form  the  design  of  car- 
rying to  them  the  gospel.  The  project  engrossed 
his  mind  and  heart.  He  prepared  a  large  map, 
composed  of  several  sheets  pasted  together,  on  which 
he  entered  what  he  was  able  to  glean  concerning 
the  population,  religion,  and  natural  characteristics 
of  every  country  then  known  ;  and  this  he  sus- 
pended on  the  wall  of  his  little  workshop.  While 
at  work  his  eye  was  often  raised  to  the  map,  and  he 
was  musing  on  the  condition  of  the  various  heathen 
tribes,  and  devising  the  means  of  evangelizing  them. 
Mr.  Marshman  states,  that  Carey  had  little  en- 
Baekw»rd-      courasrement  from  his  ministerial  brethren. 

nes8  of  Ins  n 

brethren?1      "  At  a  meeting  of  ministers  in  Northamp- 


THE   OPENING   OF  INDIA   TO    THE   GOSPEL.   27 

ton,  Mr.  Ryland,  senior,  called  on  the  young'  men 
around  him  to  propose  some  topic  for  discussion,  on 
which  Mr.  Carey  arose  and  proposed,  '  The  duty  of 
Christians  to  attempt  the  spread  of  the  gospel 
among  heathen  nations.'  The  venerable  divine  re- 
ceived the  proposal  with  astonishment,  and,  spring- 
ing to  his  feet,  denounced  the  proposition  with  a 
frown,  and  thundered  out,  'Young-  man,  sit  down. 
When  God  pleases  to  convert  the  heathen,  He  will 
do  it  without  your  aid  or  mine.'  "  Even  Mr.  Fuller 
was  startled  by  the  boldness  and  novelty  of  the  pro- 
posal.1 

In  1789  Mr.  Carey  published  an  address  on  mis- 
sions, hoping*  thus  to  rouse  his  denomina-  Formation  of 

♦  ii-  _„         ,  Ji  Missionary 

tion.  This  was  followed,  in  1791,  by  the  society. 
publication  of  an  "  Inquiry  on  Missions."  The  cele- 
brated sermon, which  may  be  regarded  as  the  foun- 
dation of  the  Baptist  Mission  in  India,  was  not 
preached  until  May,  1792.  In  this  he  explained 
and  enforced,  that  we  are  (1.)  to  expect  great  thing's 
from  God,  and  (2.)  to  attempt  great  things  for 
God.  In  October  following,  a  Missionary  Society 
was  formed  at  Battering,  with  Andrew  Fuller  for  its 
Secretary,  and  Mr.  Carey  offered  to  embark  for  any 
country  which  the  Society  might  select.  The  first 
subscription  amounted  to  thirteen  pounds  two  shil- 
lings and  sixpence.  It  was  the  harbinger  of  the 
millions  since  laid  on  the  altar  of  this  sacred  cause. 
1  Marshman,  vol.  i.  p.  10. 


28  MISSIONS    TO   INDIA.  . 

The  London  ministers  of  the  Baptist  denoinina- 
Lukewarm-     tion  stood  aloof.     The  only  minister  in  the 

nessofmin-  _  tt         /1 

iters.  great    metropolis   irom    whom    Mr.  Carey 

received  any  sympathy,  was  the  venerable  John 
Newton,  of  the  Established  Chnreh.  Indeed,  com- 
paratively few  of  his  brethren  in  the  country  really 
sympathized  with  him.  Among  these  were  Fuller, 
Suteliff,  Ryland,  and  Pearce,  all  men  near  his  own 
age.  Some  of  the  speeches  made  in  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  1796,  when 
a  proposal  was  made  to  establish  a  foreign  mis- 
sion, strongly  remind  one  of  the  anti-missionary 
speeches,  four  years  earlier,  in  the  Board  of  Proprie- 
tors of  the  East  India  Company.1 

The  Baptist    Missionary   Society   was    formed    in 
1792,  the  year  preceding  the  action  of  Par- 

The    antago-  •>  l  ~ 

uist  forces.  jian,ent  0u  the  Charter  of  the  East  India 
Company.  The  antagonist  but  apparently  very  un- 
equal forces  were  now  organized  and  in  the  field,  — 
the  one  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  India,  the  other  to 
exclude  it.  The  opposition  was  never  more  decided 
than  near  the  close  of  this  period  ;  but  we  can  no- 
tice only  the  leading  facts,  until  we  come  to  the  ar- 
rival of  the  American  missionaries  at  Calcutta  in 
1812. 

Mr.   John   Thomas,  an  eccentric  member  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  who  had  gone  to  Calcutta  in  1788, 
was  employed  by  Mr.  Grant,  for  three  years,  in  mis- 
1  See  Marshman,  vol.  i.  p.  18. 


THE   OPENING   OF  INDIA   TO   THE   GOSPEL.   29 

sionary  labors  among-  the  natives,  at  an  expense  of 
a  thousand  pounds.  Returning  to  England  in  1792, 
Mr.  Thomas  opened  a  correspondence  with  ^J^"'8" 
Mr.  Carey,  and  was  associated  with  him,  j:',!,^',!."11 
by  the  newly  formed  Society,  in  a  mission  to  be  sent 
to  Bengal. 

The  question  then  arose,  how  they  were  to  reach 
India.  The  storm  raised  by  the  proposed  Ilowtore.aoh 
modification  of  the  Charter  was  then  rag-  ,hefieia- 
ing,  and  left  no  hope  of  their  obtaining  leave  to  go 
in  one  of  the  Company's  vessels,  or  to  go  at  all.  A 
passage  was  at  length  obtained  in  a  Danish  vessel, 
and  the  party  lauded  at  Calcutta  on  the  11th  of  No- 
vember, 1793.  Having  come  in  a  foreign  vessel, 
cleared  at  a  foreign  port,  they  passed  unobserved. 
Want  of  thrift  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Thomas  Unpropiti. 
subjected  Mr.  Carey  and  his  family  to  very 
great  embarrassments.  They  had  no  letter  of  credit, 
and  the  committee  at  Kittering  had  neither  the 
knowledge  of  business,  nor  the  funds  necessary  for 
such  a  provision.  Mr.  Thomas  was  hunted  by  for- 
mer creditors,  and  induced  to  resume  his  medical 
practice  at  Calcutta,  and  Mr.  Carey,  for  a  time,  was 
dependent  for  shelter  for  his  family  of  seven  on  the 
generosity  of  an  opulent  native.  Twenty  years  after, 
when  the  good  missionary  had  attained  an  influen- 
tial position  in  Calcutta,  he  placed  this  native,  who 
had  meanwhile  lost  his  property,  in  a  situation  of 
ease  and  comfort. 


80  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

Without  money  or  friends,  Mr.  Carey  removed 
into  the  Soonderbunds,  as  a  vast  tract  of  jungle 
south  of  Calcutta  is  called,  and  began  to  build  huts 
for  his  family  in  a  neighborhood  where  persons  were 
AkindProv-  °^en  carried  off  by  tigers.  From  this  dan- 
gerous situation  he  was  rescued  by  Mr. 
George  Udny,  of  the  Company's  service,  afterwards 
a  friend  of  the  American  missionaries,  a  man  of 
genuine  Christian  benevolence,  who  had  been  asso- 
ciated with  Mr.  Grant  in  his  missionary  efforts.  He 
offered  Mr.  Carey  the  management  of  an  indigo  fac- 
tory, where  he  would  have  a  comfortable  support, 
time  for  study,  and  a  stated  congregation  of  about 
ninety  natives  connected  with  the  factory.  Here  he 
passed  more  than  five  years  preparing  himself  for 
the  wider  sphere  of  usefulness  God  had  in  store  for 
him.1  Of  his  income  of  twelve  hundred  dollars,  he 
devoted  a  fourth,  and  sometimes  a  third,  to  mission- 
ary objects. 

The  London  Missionary  Society  was  formed  in 
1795.  A  few  months  after,  Mr.  Haldane,  owner  of 
Mr.  Hai-        a   ]arge   landed    property    in    Scotland,  to 

dane  s  pro-  ~  i        l  j 

posed  mis-  which  he  had  retired  after  a  career  of  hon- 
orable service  in  the  royal  navy,  was  so  affected  by 
the  account  of  the  labors  of  Mr.  Carey  in  India,  that 
he  devoted  himself  to  an  India  mission,  and  decided 
to  sell  a  part  of  his  estates,  and  employ  the  proceeds 
in  its  support.  Three  of  his  friends,  Mr.  (after- 
1  Marshman,  vol.  i.  p.  67. 


THE   OPENING   OF  INDIA    TO    THE    GOSPEL.   31 

wards  Dr.)  Bogue,  Mr.  Innes,  and  Mr.  Greyille 
Ewing,1 — men  who  became  noted  in  the  church 
at  home,  —  animated  with  the  same  spirit,  consented 
to  accompany  him  to  India.  They  intended  to  take 
out  a  printing-  establishment,  and  a  staff  of  school- 
masters and  catechists.  When  their  arrangements 
were  completed,  application  was  made  to  the  India 
authorities  for  permission  to  embark.  Mr.  Dundas, 
President  of  the  Board  of  Control,  was  a  family 
connection  of  Mr.  Haldane,  and  had  known  him  from 
his  childhood.  After  four  months,  Mr.  Wilberforce 
came  up  to  London,  and  used  his  influence  with  the 
Ministry  on  Mr.  Haldane's  behalf,  but  all  to  no  pur- 
pose. Mr.  Haldane  received  a  very  complimentary 
reply  from  the  Court  of  Directors,  but  a  peremptory 
refusal  to  his  application.  One  more  likely  to  suc- 
ceed can  hardly  be  imagined.  It  afterwards  ap- 
peared, that  Divine  Providence  had  an  important 
service  for  Mr.  Haldane  at  Geneva  in  Switzerland. 

In  the  year  1797  Mr.  Grant  was  elected  one  of  the 
Directors  of  the  East  India  Company  ;  and,  three 
years  later,  hoping  to  secure  the  attention  of  the 
Directors,  he  printed  a  few  copies  of  "  Ob-   Mr.  Grant's 

appeal  for 

servations  on  the  state  of  society  among  Iudi:i 
the  Asiatic  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  particularly 
with  respect  to  morals  and  the  means  of  improving 
them."     But  he  found  that  the  idea  of  sending  the 

1  Mr.  Ewin^'s  Memoir  is  before  me  in  an  8vo  volume  of  672  pages, 
published  ia  Loudou  by  John  Snow  in  1843. 


32  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

Gospel  to  India  still  excited  such  angry  resistance, 
that  his  treatise  was  not  published,  and  remained 
unknown  till  it  was  disinterred  at  the  India  House 
in  1813,  by  order  of  Parliament,  and  printed  among 
other  documents.  It  then  contributed  not  a  little 
to  the  auspicious  resolution,  which  unlocked  the 
gates  of  India  to  the  gospel. 

In  1799,  Messrs.  Marslmian  and  Ward,  who  soon 
Messrs.         acquired    a  good    name  in  the  missionary 

Marshman 

ana  ward,  world,  and  two  others  who  lived  but  a  short 
time,  embarked  for  India  in  the  American  ship  Cri- 
terion, Captain  Wickes ;  there  being  no  Danish  ship 
at  hand,  and  the  ships  of  the  Company  being  closed 
against  them.  Mr.  Grant  advised  them  not  to  ex- 
pose themselves  to  banishment  by  landing  at  Cal- 
cutta, but  to  go  direct  to  Serampore,  which  was 
under  the  Danish  flag ;  and  they  were  furnished 
with  a  letter  of  introduction  from  the  Danish  Con- 
sulate in  London  to  the  Governor  of  that  settle- 
ment. They  arrived  at  Calcutta  on  the  5th  of  Oc- 
tober, and  the  captain,  at  their  request,  boldly 
reported  them  as  Christian  missionaries,  on  their 
way  to  Serampore.  He  procured  boats  for  their 
baggage,  in  which  they  embarked,  and,  on  the  13th 
of  October,  found  themselves  safe  at  their  destina- 
tion. 

This  little  Danish  town  has,  at  present,  no  other 
The  mission-  interest  than    as    a   former  refuge  of  the 

ary  refuge  at 

serampore.     church   in  a  time   of  persecution.      It   is 


THE   OPENING  OF  INDIA   TO   THE   GOSPEL.  33 

pleasantly  situated  on  the  right  bauk  of  the  river 
Hooghly,  sixteen  miles  above  Calcutta.  It  was  pur- 
chased by  Danish  traders  of  the  Nabob  of  Moorshe- 
dabad,  and  the  Danish  flag  was  hoisted  over  it  in 
1758,  just  before  the  battle  of  Plassey.  The  town, 
when  Messrs.  Marshman  and  Ward  landed  there, 
had  reached  the  zenith  of  its  prosperity,  and  the 
only  trade  of  the  Presidency  in  the  hands  of  foreign- 
ers was  concentrated  there-;  the  Dutch  and  French 
settlements,  farther  up  the  river,  having  been  cap- 
tured by  the  English  during  the  war  of  the  French 
Revolution.1  During*  the  rupture  between  England 
and  Denmark,  at  the  close  of  1800,  the  Danish  set- 
tlements in  India  were  all  sequestered,  but  only  for 
fourteen  months,  and  daring  the  administration  of 
Lord  Wellesley,  who  no  longer  regarded  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise  with  alarm.  The  place  was  again 
occupied  by  the  English  in  1808,  and  was  held  by 
them  until  the  termination  of  the  European  war,  in 
1815.  Happily  Lord  Minto,  in  1808,  had  recovered 
from  the  panic  of  the  Vellore  mutiny,  and  become 
better  acquainted  with  the  character  and  views  of 
the  missionaries.  Had  the  capture  taken  place  in 
the  previous  year,  the  Serampore  mission  might 
have  been  broken  up. 

Colonel  Bie,  the  Governor  of  the  place,  received 
the  missionaries  cordially,  and  offered  them   Anefficient 
all  the  assistance  in  his  power.     But  the  protector 

1  Marshman,  vol.  i.  p.  113. 


34  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

police  of  Calcutta  lost  no  time  in  notifying  the  Gov- 
ernor-general of  the  arrival  of  four  missionaries 
without  permission  from  the  Court  of  Directors ; 
and  it  was  resolved,  that  they  he  required  to  leave 
the  country  forthwith.  Captain  Wickes  applied,  on 
Monday,  for  permission  to  enter  his  vessel,  hut  was 
informed  that  he  could  not  receive  it,  unless  the 
four  missionaries  came  under  engagements  to  re- 
turn immediately  to  England.  The  captain  brought 
this  information  to  Serampore  that  evening,  and  it 
occasioned  some  dismay.  They  determined,  how- 
ever, to  remain,  unless  the  Governor  declined  to 
protect  them.  Colonel  Bie  had  been  nearly  forty 
years  in  the  service  of  the  Danish  Company,  part  of 
the  time  as  an  officer  at  Tranquebar,  where  he  was 
favored  with  the  ministry  of  Schwartz,  hut  mostly 
as  Governor  of  Serampore.  He  was  small  in  stat- 
ure, but  bold,  and  his  independence  had  given  no 
little  umbrage  to  Warren  Hastings.  He  had  re- 
sisted the  demands  of  subsequent  Governor-generals 
for  the  surrender  of  those  to  whom  he  had  given 
protection  ;  and  he  was  now  prepared  to  do  the  same 
in  behalf  of  the  missionaries,  but  he  advised  them 
to  present  an  explanatory  memorial  to  Lord  Welles- 
TheGover.     ley.     Explanations  were  accordingly  made, 

nor-general 

paciticated.  an<J  the  Governor-general,  one  of  the  most 
enlightened  of  the  rulers  of  India,  being  assured  of 
their  Protestaut  character  and  pacific  designs,  and 
that  he  had  no  legal  right  to  refuse  an  entry  to  a 


THE   OPENING   OF  INDIA   TO    THE    GOSPEL.   35 

foreign  vessel  simply  because  she  had  brought  out 
passengers  to  a  foreign  settlement,  removed  the  in- 
terdict from  the  Criterion. 

It  soon  became  apparent,  that  although  the  mis- 
sionaries were  safe  at  Serampore,  they  would  not  be 
allowed  to  settle  elsewhere,  and  that  the  Governor- 
general  would  not  allow  a  press  in  the  Company's 
territories  out  of  Calcutta.  But  there  was  reason 
to  believe  he  was  willing  the  missionaries  should  es- 
tablish themselves  under  Colonel  Bie's  protection, 
where  he  would  be  relieved  from  the  necessity  of 
disturbing  them.  If  Lord  Wellesley  was  a  despot, 
he  was  too  enlightened  to  sympathize  with  the  con- 
tracted views  which  then  prevailed  in  Leadenhall 
Street.  He  did  not  consider  the  missionaries  a  dan- 
gerous class,  and  saw  no  reason  to  persecute  them. 
On  the  contrary,  he  looked  upon  religion  as  the 
safeguard  of  social  order,  and  the  most  effectual  pro- 
moter of  happiness,  and  determined  to  favor  it.  He 
forbade  horse-raciug  and  gambling  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  the  publication  of  Sunday  newspapers,  and 
never  failed  to  appear  in  his  place  at  church.  He 
even  assured  Mr.  Brown,  the  worthy  chaplain, 
that  he  was  resolved  to  recognize  the  Christian  re- 
ligion as  the  religion  of  the  State.  He  appointed 
the  6th  of  February,  1800,  as  a  day  of  general 
thanksgiving  for  the  success  of  the  British  arms  in 
Mysore,  and  the  day  was  observed  at  Calcutta  with 
much  pomp  and  ceremony;  Mr.  Buchanan,  another 


36  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

of  the  chaplains,  preaching  a  sermon  appropriate  to 
the  occasion.  These  things  were  a  great  step  for- 
wards. After  the  Governor-general  became  assured 
that  the  Serainpore  missionaries  avoided  political 
questions,  and  restricted  themselves  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  heathen,  he  showed  every  disposition  to 
foster  their  work,  though  nearly  all  the  influential 
members  of  his  government  were  known  to  be  vio- 
lently opposed.1 

The  College  of  Fort  William,  established  by  the 

college  of       Marquis  of  Wellesley  in  1801,  for  the  bet- 
Fort  Wil- 
liam.  ter  education  or  the  young  men  connected 

with  the  civil  service,  was  an  important  step  towards 
that  toleration  of  missionaries  which  was  coining 
with  a  slow  but  sure  progress.  Mr.  Brown,  the 
chaplain,  an  avowed  friend  of  missions,  was  made 
Provost  of  the  College,  the  well-known  Claudius  Bu- 
chanan was  made  Vice-Provost,  and  William  Carey 
became  one  of  the  most  noted  of  the  Professors. 
Translating  the  Holy  Scriptures  into  the  languages 
of  the  country,  was  a  favorite  pursuit  in  the  college, 
and  it  became  well  known  that  the  eminent  states- 
man at  the  head  of  the  government  did  not  look 
with  apprehension  upon  the  work  of  Christian  mis- 
sions. The  College  was  indeed  soon  very  much  re- 
duced in  its  funds  by  the  Directors  at  home,  but  not 
until  it  had  strengthened  the  hold  of  Christian  mis- 
sions on  India;  and  it  soon  gnve  rise  to  the  College 

1  Marshman,  vol.  i.  p.  134. 


THE   OPENING   OF  INDIA   TO   THE   GOSPEL.   37 

at  Haileybury,  in   England,  for  the    same  class  of 
young  men. 

The  mutiny  and  massacre  at  Vellore,  in  July, 
180G,  occasioned  great  alarm,  both  in  India  Mutinyat 
and  England,  and  was  most  absurdly  at- 
tributed, by  the  enemies  of  missions,  to  missionary  in- 
fluence ;  and  they  took  occasion  from  it  to  redouble 
their  efforts  to  close  the  door  against  the  Gos- 
pel. In  the  following  month,  while  the  excitement 
was  at  its  height,  Captain  Wickea  brought  two  ad- 
ditional missionaries  from  England  in  his  ship  Cri- 
terion for  the   Serampore   mission.      Lord   T. 

i  I  he  conse- 

Minto,  the  new  Governor-general,  had  just  q"euces- 
arrived,  and,  misled  by  unfriendly,  misrepresenta- 
tions, sanctioned  an  order  for  their  immediate  ban- 
ishment from  the  country.  At  the  same  time,  the 
preaching  and  all  the  other  missionary  labors  of  the 
brethren  at  Serampore  were  prohibited,  and  they 
were  required  to  remove  their  printing  establish- 
ment to  Calcutta.  But  these  orders,  after  some 
time,  were  withdrawn  through  the  judicious  meas- 
ures of  the  Danish  Governor,  aud  personal  explana- 
tions to  Lord  Minto. 

We  have  now  entered  upon  the  year  1807,  and 
within  five  years  the  terms  must  be  settled  for  the 
renewal  of  the  Charter  to  the  East  India  Company. 
Times  had  changed  since  1792,  and  were  rapidly 
changing,    though     the    upholders    of   the   Missionary 

.  ii«         development 

old  regime  were  the  last  to  apprehend  it.   inEugiand. 


38  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

The  Baptist  Missionary  Society  had  been  formed  in 
1792,  the  London  Missionary  Society  in  1795,  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  in  1800,  and  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society  in  1804.  Thousands  of 
people  had  their  interest  thus  awakened,  in  place  of 
the  very  few  five  or  six  years  before.  The  struggle 
between  the  friends  and  enemies  of  missions  was 
once  more  transferred  to  England,  and  the  years 
from  1807  to  1812  are  noted  for  what  has  been  called 
the  great  battle  of  missions. 

The  campaign  was  opened  by  Mr.  Twining,  who 
The. great  had  resided  in  India  from  1792  to  1805,  in 
missions.  a  printed  letter  to  the  Chairman  of  the 
Court  of  Directors.  His  fears  were  specially  excited 
by  the  formation  of  the  Bible  Society,  with  the  de- 
clared object  of  the  universal  diffusion  of  the  Chris- 
tian faith,  and  with  a  membership  including  Mr. 
Charles  Grant  and  Mr.  Thornton,  of  the  Court  of 
Directors,  and  Lord  Teign mouth,  once  Governor- 
general  of  India  and  then  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Control  and  of  his  Majesty's  Privy  Council.  He 
thought  their  possessions  in  the  East  were  in  a  situ- 
ation of  unprecedented  peril.  This  assault  was  ably 
met  by  Mr.  Owen,  Secretary  of  the  Bible  Society. 

Major  Scott  Waring  soon  followed  on  the  same 
side  with  Mr.  Twining.  He  had  gone  to  India  in 
the  year  1765,  and  was  there  when  the  European 
community  was  preeminently  distinguished  by  indif- 
ference to  Christianity  and  partiality  to  idolatrous 
superstitions. 


THE   OPENING   OF  INDIA    TO   THE   GOSPEL.     30 

These  pamphlets  were  found  to  be  creating  a 
strong-  anti-missionary  feeling-  in  influential  political 
circles,  and  Mr.  Fuller  hastened  to  London  to  coun- 
teract it.  He  called  on  the  Marquis  of  Wellesley, 
who  informed  him  that  he  was  himself  decidedly  op- 
posed to  the  recall  of  the  missionaries,  which  he  con- 
sidered impolitic  and  unjust,  and  he  promised  to  use 
his  efforts  to  dissuade  the  Ministry  from  it,  should 
they  ask  his  opinion.  Meanwhile  four  other  pam- 
phlets, equally  hostile,  appeared  in  rapid  succession. 
Mr.  Fuller  now  published  his  "  Apology  for  the  late 
Christian  Missions  in  India,"  making-  a  volume  of 
more  than  three  hundred  pages,  and  Mr.  Owen  also 
published  a  reply  to  Major  Scott  Waring-. 

The  next  assailant  was  a  "  Bengal  Officer,"  who 
had  notoriously  abjured  Christianity,  and  become 
a  worshipper  of  the  Hindoo  deities.  This  pamphlet 
subserved  the  cause  of  Christian  missions  by  the 
ridicule  it  brought  on  their  opponents.  Among  the 
most  important  of  the  contributions  to  the  mis- 
sionary cause,  during  this  controversy,  was  one  by 
Lord  Teign mouth. 

After  the  lapse  of  sixty  years,  it  is  presumed  that 
but  few  of  these  publications  are  obtainable,  and  Mr. 
Marshmau  has  performed  a  valuable  service  by  em- 
bodying the  substance  of  them  in  his  "  History  of 
the  Serampore  Mission."  The  satirical  attacks 
of  Sydney  Smith,  in  the  "  Edinburgh  Review  "  of 
1808  and  1809,  still  attract  attention,  but  they  were 


40  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

founded  on  misapprehension,  and  the  author  is  said 
to  have  lived  to  regret  them. 

The  discussion  closed  with  an  article  in  defense 
of  the  missions,  in  the  "  Quarterly  Review  "  of  April, 
1809,  from  the  pen  of  Southey.1 

It  is  not  possible  to  overrate  the  importance  of 
importance     this  controversy  in  its   eifect  on  religious 

of  the  con-  .     . 

troversy.  opinions  in  England,  as  developed  in  1812 
during'  the  discussion  in  Parliament  on  the  India 
Charter. 

Occurrences  at  Calcutta,  in  1811,  made  it  evident 
The  dimcui-  that  the  standing  orders  of  the  Court  for 

ties  not  over-  .  '       . 

come.  the    deportation    of    Europeans    found    in 

India  without  a  license,  might  be  put  in  force  at  any 
time  by  the  malevolence  of  any  officer.  The  tolera- 
tion enjoyed  was  only  by  sufferance,  and  it  was  lia- 
ble to  be  interrupted,  should  a  new  panic  seize  the 
Council  Board.  The  missionaries  therefore  urg*ed 
Mr.  Puller,  as  the  period  for  a  new  Charter  ap- 
proached, to  seize  the  g'olden  opportunity  for  secur- 
ing them  a  leg'al  toleration  in  India. 

The  question  of  renewing  the  Charter  of  the  East 
Toleration      India    Company   came    up   again    in    the 

secured.  jjouse     Qf     Commons      in     the      year     lgl3 

Lord  Castlereagh,  the  Prime  Minister,  suggested, 
as  modifications  to  suit  the  necessities  of  the  times, 
that  the  trade  of  India  be  thrown  open  to  the  mer- 
cantile community  of  England,  and  that  Europeans 

1  See  Marshman's  History,  vol.  i.  pp.  333-379. 


THE   OPENING   OF  INDIA   TO    THE  GOSPEL.    41 

be  allowed  to  resort  to  India,  under  licenses  from 
the  Court  of  Directors,  or  the  Board  of  Control  ; 
but  leaving-  the  government  in  full  possession  of  the 
power  they  had  always  held,  of  expelling-  any  one 
whose  conduct  or  opinions  might  be  considered  dan- 
gerous. He  would  also  provide  for  a  bishop  and 
three  archdeacons,  to  superintend  the  chaplains  of 
the  different  settlements.  There  was  no  proposed 
concession  to  the  missionaries,  and  the  bishop  and 
archdeacons  were  intended  solely  for  the  European 
community  in  India.  Wilberforce  then  rose  and 
expressed  his  unwillingness  to  leave  the  same  power 
in  the  hands  of  the  Directors  for  twenty  years 
to  come,  which  they  had  employed  with  so  much 
zeal  against  missions  in  the  twenty  years  gone  by. 
The  conduct  of  the  Prime  Minister,  in  studiously 
omitting-  to  make  provision  in  the  Charter  in  favor 
of  missions,  produced  its  natural  effect  in  England 
and  Scotland.  It  showed  the  necessity  of  an  expres- 
sion of  public  opinion,  such  as  even  Parliament 
would  not  venture  to  resist.  While  the  Court  of 
Directors  spent  six  weeks  in  examining  witnesses  in 
support  of  the  mercantile  privileges  which  they  had 
enjoyed  for  more  than  two  centuries,  of  which  the 
proposed  modified  Charter  would  very  properly  de- 
prive them,  the  religious  spirit  of  the  country  was 
aroused.  Wilberforce  and  his  associates,  Grant, 
Stephen,  and  Babington,  were  actively  engaged  in 
getting  up  petitions  in  their  respective  communities, 


42  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

until  the  voice  of  the  country  became  irresistible. 
Nine  hundred  petitions  were  laid  on  the  table  of 
the  House  of  Commons.  Wilberforce,  regarding 
the  object  as  "  the  greatest  which  men  ever  pur- 
sued," exhibited  all  the  ardor  he  had  shown  in  the 
question  of  the  slave-trade.  He  felt  that  nothing 
short  of  an  unequivocal  expression  of  the  feelings  of 
the  nation  would  carry  the  Parliament,  even  though 
the  Ministry  should  be  favorable.  A  large  and  in- 
fluential meeting  was  held  at  the  London  Tavern, 
with  Lord  Gatnbier  in  the  chair,  at  which  strong 
resolutions  were  adopted  in  favor  of  the  proposed 
amendment  of  the  Charter,  and  a  permanent  com- 
mittee of  twenty-eight  gentlemen,  of  all  sects  and 
parties,  was  appointed  to  secure  the  object.  The 
subject  was  earnestly  debated  in  Parliament,  but  the 
most  remarkable  of  the  speeches  then  made,  was 
doubtless  that  of  Wilberforce,  which  is  said  to  have 
equaled  the  noblest  of  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
slave,  and  to  have  been  heard  with  the  closest  atten- 
tion by  all  parties. 

The  bill,  as  desired  by  the  friends  of  missions, 
passed  to  its  third  reading  on  the  13th  of  July, 
1813,  by  a  vote  of  fifty-four  against  twenty-two. 
There  being  no  "  old  Indians "  in  the  House  of 
Lords,  it  there  met  with  a  far  less  decided  opposi- 
tion. The  demands  of  the  manufacturers  and  mer- 
chants of  England  lor  a  participation  in  the  trade 
of  India,  caused  the  ministry  to  see  that  they  could 


THE   OPENING   OF  INDIA   TO    THE  GOSPEL.    43 

not  consistently  refuse  the  grant  also  of  religious 
privileges;  "and  thus  commerce  became,  in  some 
measure,  the  handmaid  of  religion,  and  under  their 
combined  influence  the  gates  of  India  were  opened 
at  once  to  the  cottons  of  England  and  the  truths  of 
the  Bible."1 

The  Company  had  hitherto  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of 
the  trade  between  England  and  all  places  east  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  trade  between  England 
and  India  was  now  to  be  open  for  all  ;  though  the 
trade  with  China  was  still  to  be  a  monopoly  of  the 
Company.  Missionary  operations,  and  all  proper 
means  for  the  conversion  of  the  native  population  to 
Christianity,  were  to  be  tolerated. 

It  afterwards  appeared  that  the  East  India  Di- 
rectors did  not  regard  the  new  Charter  as  ^^','"7 
opening  the  door  for  American  mission-  Q»nt? 
aries.  Indeed,  the  English  missionaries  who  ap- 
plied for  permission  to  proceed  to  India  immediately 
after  the  passage  of  the  Charter,  were  at  first  re- 
fused. And  when  the  report  of  proceedings  of  the 
authorities  at  Calcutta  and  Bombay  came  before  the 
Court,  a  resolution  was  proposed,  censuring  those 
who  had  favored  the  missionaries,  and  requiring*  the 
American  missionaries  to  be  removed  from  India. 
The  resolution  was  about  to  pass,  when  the  venera- 
ble Charles  Grant,  formerly  Chairman  of  the  Court, 
1  Marshnian,  vol.  ii.  p.  45. 


44  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

read  an  argument  lie  had  carefully  prepared  from 
official  documents,  defending  the  conduct  of  the 
missionaries  in  every  step  of  their  proceedings,  and 
proving  that  the  officials  in  India  had  mistaken  the 
extent  of  their  authority,  and  assumed  powers  which 
neither  the  laws  of  the  British  empire  nor  the  laws 
of  nations  would  authorize.  They  were  not  at  liberty 
to  do  more  than  order  the  missionaries  from  the 
country.  To  send  them  to  England,  was  to  treat 
them  as  British  subjects,  or  as  prisoners  of  war ; 
and  to  prohibit  their  going  to  any  neutral  territory, 
was  a  stretch  of  authority  which  the  missionaries 
were  not  bound  to  obey,  and  to  withdraw  from 
which  was  no  crime.  The  plea  was  successful :  and 
the  dispatches  sent  to  Bombay  admitted  the  object 
of  the  missionaries  to  be  simply  the  promotion  of 
religion,  and  authorized  Sir  Evan  Nepean  to  allow 
them  to  remain.  The  decision  was  communicated 
to  the  missionaries  some  time  in  1815. 

Lord   Liverpool   succeeded  Castlereagh  as  Prime 
smi  farther    Minister  before  the  action  of  Parliament, 

assured  by  a  ' 

DOT-gen^-ai.  and  decided  to  supersede  Lord  Minto  as 
Governor-general  by  the  appointment  of  the  Earl 
of  Moira,  better  known  by  his  subsequent  title  of 
the  Marquis  of  Hastings.  He  was  known  in  the 
war  of  the  American  Revolution  as  Lord  Rawdon, 
and  commanded  the  British  army  at  the  battle  of 
Eutaw  Springs.      He  must  have  reached  Calcutta 


THE   OPENING   OF  INDIA   TO   THE  GOSPEL.   45 

early  in  the  autumn,  since  his  predecessor  embarked 
for  home  on  the  20th  of  October.1  The  Earl  had 
not  the  morbid  dread  of  missionary  efforts  which 
haunted  the  public  functionaries  in  Calcutta,  and  he 
had  enough  of  independence  and  character  to  check 
their  movements.  When  waited  on  by  Messrs.  Carey, 
Tbomason,  and  Udny,  the  newly  appointed  commit- 
tee of  the  American  Board,  with  a  request  that  he 
would  reverse  the  order  for  the  deportation  of  the 
American  missionaries,  he  expressed  his  conviction 
that  they  meant  to  do  good,  and  that  no  consider- 
able injury  could  arise  from  their  continuance  in 
the  country.  This  declaration  was  made  before  the 
adoption  of  the  new  Charter  was  known  in  India. 
As  soon  as  these  liberal  views  of  the  new  Governor- 
general  were  reported  at  Bombay,  all  further  pro- 
ceedings against  the  missionaries  were  stayed.  Lord 
Moira  had  left  England  after  the  sentiments  of  the 
various  relig-ious  communities  had  been  largely  de- 
veloped on  the  subject  of  missions,  and  when  the 
table  of  the  House  of  Commons  was  covered,  night 
after  night,  with  petitions. 

Although  the  connection  of  the  East  India  Com- 

1  Mr.  Marshman  says :  "  Nothing  could  exceed  the  kindliness  of 
Lord  Minto's  personal  feelings.  There  is  reason  to  believe,  moreover, 
that  his  own  views  were  far  more  liberal  than  those  of  his  government, 
but  he  wanted  firmness  to  resist  the  influence  of  the  cli<me  of  secre- 
taries at  Calcutta,  who  had  been  nursed  up  in  prejudices  and  despot- 
ism." He  reached  England  in  March,  1814,  and  died  a  few  months 
after,  on  his  way  to  his  scat  in  Scotland. 


46  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

pany  with   the    idolatry  of   the   country   continued 
thirty  years  longer,  yet,  from  this  time,  pro- 

Subsequent  J  J  &      '  J       '  L 

tolerance       tection  was  extended  to  missionaries,  and 

and  protec-  ' 

Kas/india116  to  American  missionaries  not  less  than  to 
ompany.  Eng]isil5  an(]  the  government  has  been  in- 
creasingly favorable  from  that  day  to  this.  The 
Company  was  dissolved  soon  after  the  great  mutiny 
in  1857,  and,  to  the  joy  of  all  friends  of  missions, 
Sir  John  Lawrence,  one  of  the  ablest  and  best  of 
Christian  men  in  India,  was  placed  on  the  viceregal 
throne. 

One  cannot  look  back  through  the  labors  and 
oratefui  vicissitudes  of  this  great  struggle,  without 
of  Carey,       admiring  the  singular  aptitude  of  Carey, 

Grant,  and 

wuberforce.  Grant,  and  Wilberforce  for  their  allotted 
spheres  of  action.  Verily  the  hand  that  made  them 
was  divine.  Nor  should  we  forget  the  training 
which  Wilberforce,  and  the  religious  portion  of  the 
British  empire,  had  received  for  this  work,  by  the 
long  struggle  for  the  abolition  of  the  slave-trade. 
These  champions  of  religious  liberty  all  lived  to  old 
age,  and  witnessed  the  consummation  of  their  hopes  ; 
Grant  dying  in  1824,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven, 
Wilberforce  in  1833,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three, 
and  Carey  in  1834,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MISSION    TO    THE    MAHRATTAS. 
1815-1826. 

Bombay  occupies  an  island  on  the  western  coast 
of  India,  and  its  present  population  exceeds  BomiKiy. 
eight  hundred  thousand.  It  is  now  connected  with 
Christendom  by  telegraphic  lines,  and  by  railways 
with  every  important  part  of  India.  The  Con  can  is 
a  low,  hot  country  on  the  adjacent  conti-  The  concan. 
nent,  extending  two  hundred  miles  along-  the  coast, 
and  from  forty  to  a  hundred  miles  inland,  to  the 
Ghats  mountains,  which  run  southward  to  Cape 
Comorin,  varying  in  height  from  two  thousand  to 
seven  thousand  feet.  Crossing  these  mountains  to 
the  eastward,  the  traveller  finds  no  per-  Thefleccan. 
ceptible  descent,  but  comes  out  among  hills,  and  on 
table  land  two  thousand  feet  higher  than  the  sea.1 

The  Mahrattas  inhabit  the  Concan,  the  Deccan, 
and    Central    India,    and    number    about  ™^ah_ 

1  Mr.  Elphinstone,  in  his  History  of  India,  published  more  than 
thirty  years  since,  says  theDeccan,  properly  speaking,  includes  all  the 
country  south  of  the  Vindya  mountains,  yet,  in  modern  practice,  is 
often  limited  to  the  part  lying  between  that  chain  and  the  river 
Kishna. 


48  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

twelve  millions.     In  the  middle  of  the  last  century 

their  formidable   irregular  cavalry,  known    as   the 

"  Mahratta  Horse,"  overran  a  great  part  of  Hindo- 

stan,  and  the  Mahratta  community  on  the  continent 

partook  largely  of  this  marauding  character.     The 

victories  of  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley,  afterwards  Duke  of 

Wellington,  in  1803,  were  a  check  on  this  evil,  but 

the  Mahratta  country  was  in  a  very  disturbed  state 

during  the  ten  years  from  1807  to  1817.     This  arose 

mainly  from  the  habits  of  the  people.     But  while 

they  sought   plunder,   they  had    a   country  and    a 

home,  and  regular  occupations  which  they  followed 

during  the  intermissions  of  their  predatory  raids. 

The  aim  of  their  chiefs  was  uot  booty  merely,  but 

also  political  power. 

The  avowed  occasion  of  the  war  of  1817,  which 

Their  subju-  led  to  their  subjugation  by  the  English, 
gation.  was  £|ie  p]uiu]erjng  excursions  of  the  Pin- 

darrees,  a  low  class  of  mounted  freebooters,  whose 
ravages,  about  the  time  of  Messrs.  Hall  and  Nott's 
arrival  at  Bombay,  had  become  a  terror  to  India. 
They  followed  different  chiefs,  in  companies  varying 
from  two  hundred  to  ten  thousand,  all  mounted  and 
armed,  unincumbered  by  tents  or  baggage,  advan- 
cing at  the  rate  of  forty  or  fifty  miles  a  day,  and 
always  directly  toward  their  prey.  Their  aim  was 
not  to  take  possession  of  a  district,  but  to  sweep 
away  what  was  in  it ;  and  being  obliged  to  collect 
their  plunder  in  haste,  they  often  inflicted  merciless 


MISSION   TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  49 

torments  to  enforce  its  delivery.  They  trusted  to 
the  secrecy  and  suddenness  of  their  raids  for  avoid- 
ing the  military  guards,  and  before  a  force  could  be 
brought  against  them  they  were  on  their  return. 
Their  strength  lay  in  making  themselves  intangi- 
ble. If  pursued,  they  made  extraordinary  marches 
through  roads  almost  impracticable  for  regular 
troops.  If  overtaken,  they  dispersed,  and  reassem- 
bled at  an  appointed  rendezvous.  If  followed  into 
their  owu  country,  they  broke  into  small  parties, 
and  their  booty  was  either  safely  deposited  in  their 
mountain  fastnesses, *or  under  the  protection  of  their 
secret  allies  among*  the  neighboring*  chiefs. 

The  Pindarrees  were  tolerated  and  even  encour- 
aged by  Bajee  Row,  the  Peishwa  or  Sovereign  of  the 
Mahratta  confederation,  and  by  Scindia,  Holkar,  and 
other  subordinate  chiefs,  in  the  hope  of  receiving 
their  aid  in  wars  with  the  English.  Their  maraud- 
ings became  at  length  insupportable,  and  the  Mar- 
quis of  Hastings  laid  his  plans  for  a  comprehensive 
movement  to  eradicate  the  whole  predatory  system 
from  western  India.  Accordingly,  in  1817,  he  scut 
a  large  army  to  invade  the  country  on  three  sides. 
The  Peishwa,  and  his  principal  subordinates,  Scindia 
and  Holkar,  took  part  with  the  Pindarrees.  The 
last  two  saved  themselves  only  by  timely  submission. 
The  Pimlarree  leaders,  Cheetoo  and  Kurreem,  were 
defeated,  and  became  wanderers  in  the  jungles.  The 
latter  surrendered  to  Sir  John  Malcolm  in  February, 


50  ■        MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

1818.  Cheetoo  refused  to  surrender,  and  sought 
shelter  in  a  dense  forest,  where  he  was  killed  by  a 
tiger.1 

The  hostile  intentions  of  the  Peishwa  became  evi- 
dent as  early  as  November,  1817,  when  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Elphinstone  at  Poona  was  suddenly  attacked, 
and  all  the  property  either  carried  off  or  destroyed  ; 
the  Resident  and  his  suite  having-  barely  time  to 
mount  their  horses  and  flee.  The  Peishwa,  being- 
attacked  soon  after  by  the  British  army,  commenced 
a  retreat,  which  he  continued  for  more  than  six 
months,  ranging  over  the  wide  extent  of  the  Dec- 
can,  and  always  distancing  his  pursuers  by  the 
rapidity  of  his  march.  Finding  himself  a  hopeless 
fugitive,  he  sought  to  make  terms,  hoping  to  retain 
his  rank  and  office.  But  the  Governor-general,  in 
view  of  his  protracted  hostility  and  treachery,  in- 
sisted on  an  absolute  surrender.  On  being  assured 
of  a  pension  of  eight  lacks  of  rupees,  or  about 
,£100,000,  he  renounced  his  claims  as  a  sovereign, 
and  agreed  to  spend  the  rest  of  his  days  at  a  dis- 
tance from  the  seat  of  his  former  power.  He  was 
conducted  to  Bithoor,  on  the  Gauges,  near  Cawn- 
pore;2  a  place  memorable,  forty  years  later,  as  the 
residence  of  his  adopted  son,  Nana  Sahib,  the  fiend- 
ish murderer  of  men,  women,  and  children. 

This  brief  statement  of  the  condition  of  the  Mah- 

1  Malcolm's  Central  India,  vol.  i.  p.  445. 

2  Grant  Duff's  History  of  the  Mahrattas,  vol.  iii.  p.  477. 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  51 

ratta  country,  in  the  early  years  of  the  mission,  will 
go  tar  toward  explaining-  the  embarrass-  j^"°"cye 
inents  of  such  high-minded  rulers  as  Mr.  faVt'^se 
Elphinstone,  when  asked  to  sanction  the  first  efforts 
to  extend  missionary  labors  into  the  Deccan.  It 
will  show,  also,  how  time  was  needed  to  gain  the 
native  confidence.  Nor  should  we  fail  to  notice  the 
interposition  of  divine  Providence,  which  seasonably, 
suppressed  a  predatory  warfare  that  threatened  to 
spread  anarchy  and  devastation  over  western  India.1 
As  a  preparation  for  their  work,  the  brethren  now 
adopted  "  a  plan  of  polity,  or  social  order."  Inc.  ient 
They  were  to  form  a  self-governing  mis-  mcasLlres 
sion,  in  which  the  majority  was  to  rule,  while  the 
minority  of  the  missionaries,  in  purely  missionary 
matters,  had  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  Prudential 
Committee,  and  ultimately  to  the  Board  at  home  — 
a  right,  however,  which  has  been  rarely  exercised. 
The  principle  of  common  stock  was  adopted,  but 
with  a  limit  to  individual  expenditures.  No  mem- 
ber of  the  mission  was  to  receive  pecuniary  com- 
pensation for  service  from  any  person,  without  the 
consent  of  the  mission,  and  the  gain  thus  acquired 
was  to  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  mission. 
This  system,  derived  from  the  Serampore  mission- 
aries, was  not  found  to  work  economically,  and  sala- 
ries, as  private  property,  at  length  took  the  place  of 

1  India,  Ancient  and  Modern,  by  David  0.  Allen,  D.  D.,  pp.  255, 
256,  note. 


52  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

the  common  stock.  The  extension  of  the  missions 
made  it  necessary,  about  the  year  1837,  to  require 
from  each  mission  an  annual  estimate  of  expendi- 
tures, including'  all  important  details,  to  be  followed 
by  annual  specific  appropriations  by  the  Prudential 
Committee. 

The  climate  of  India  affected   Mr.  Nott  so   un- 
„   ^T  ...       favorably  that,  by  the  advice  of  physicians, 

Mr.  Nott's  •'  '      J  * 

return  home.     ^     returne(J     hOVDe,     Wltll     Ml'S.    Nott,     BOUT 

the  close  of  1815;  but  lie  lived  to  attend  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  the  Board,  and  died  at  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  July  1,  1869,  at  the  age  of  eighty-one. 
His  wife  survived  him. 

There  was  of  necessity  a  varied  work  of  prepara- 
tion. The  Mahratta  language  was  to  be 
acquired,  portions  of  Scripture  translated, 
and  school-books  prepared.  The  prejudices  of  hea- 
then parents  against  Christian  books  were  to  be 
overcome,  even  in  schools  taught  by  heathen  mas- 
ters;  then  prejudices  against  schools  taught  by  na- 
tive Christian  masters  ;  and,  more  than  all,  against 
free  boarding-schools  in  the  families  of  missionaries. 
They  were  to  find  audiences  who  would  hear  the 
Gospel  where  no  one  was  anxious  to  hear,  or  knew 
well  how  to  behave  while  hearing  ;  and  to  gather 
churches  where  a  public  profession  of  the  Christian 
religion  involved  the  loss  of  all  things,  with  perse- 
cution, which  only  the  civil  power  prevented  from 
being  unto  death.     In  such  circumstances,  the  work 


ibstacles  to 
be  overcome 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAIIRATTAS.  53 

might  well  be  accounted  hopeless,  except  as  it  was 
ordered  by  God  himself,  and  had  the  promise  of 
divine  aid. 

As  this  was  the  first  American  mission,  it  seems 
^    proper  that  something-  should  here  be  said   ru'^musbn- 

n      i  •  i  i  ■  j.       aides  were 

concerning    a    feature   in    it,    peculiar   to  employed. 
modern  times;   namely,  the  employment  of  married 
missionaries. 

The  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles  was  unmarried, 
though  he  claimed  the  right  to  marry  ;  and  so,  it 
would  seem,  were  Timothy  and  Titus,  his  missionary 
associates.  So  were  the  Nestorian  and  Irish  mis- 
sionaries, in  the  early  and  middle  ages  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church ;  and  so  were  those  by  whose  labors 
Europe  was  led  to  adopt  the  Christian  name.  This 
must  have  arisen,  mainly,  from  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances and  habits  of  those  times.  The  mission- 
aries were  not  then  in  circumstances  to  support 
families.  It  was  not  deemed  wise,  nor  is  it  now,  for 
them  to  look  to  their  heathen  converts  for  support. 
Were  modern  evangelists  situated  as  Paul  was,  they 
would  generally  deem  it  wise  to  remain  unmarried. 
The  feeling  was  prevalent  in  the  churches,  at  the 
outset  of  American  missions,  that  those  who  went 
abroad,  especially  to  barbarous  nations,  should  be 
single  men.  This  is  within  the  author's  distinct 
recollection  ;  and  the  biographer  of  Mrs.  Judson, 
writing  in  1829,  affirms  the  general  opinion  to  have 
been  decidedly  opposed  to  the   measure  of  sending 


54  MISS/ 0X8  TO   INDIA. 

married  persons.  It  was  deemed  wild  and  romantic 
in  the  extreme,  and  altogether  inconsistent  with 
prudence  and  delicacy.1  When  the  mission  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands  was  projected,  many  apprehended, 
and  it  was  even  strongly  asserted  by  some  men  who 
had  visited  the  Islands,  that  women  would  receive 
brutal  treatment  from  the  islanders ;  and  the  belief 
was  not  easily  shaken,  that  they  would  detract  from 
the  efficiency  of  a  mission. 

Yet  the  popular  opinion  was  wrong.  Those  of  the 
Apostles,  whose  circumstances  favored  it,  appear  to 
have  been  married  men  ; 2  and  the  circumstances  of 
modern  missionaries  are  even  more  in  accordance 
with  that  condition,  than  were  those  of  "  the  breth- 
ren of  the  Lord  and  Cephas."  Missionaries  are 
now  sure  of  support  from  the  churches  at  home; 
and  those  churches  probably  find  it  easier  to  support 
a  mission  composed  of  families,  than  they  would  a 
less  interesting  mission  of  unmarried  men.  We  all 
now  see  how  well  it  was  that  the  wives  of  the  first 
missionaries  were  not  left  behind,  as  was  proposed 
by  the  Prudential  Committee.  Mrs.  Newell  and 
Mrs.  Judson  awakened  a  deeper  and  more  general 
interest  in  the  churches  at  home  than  did  their  hus- 
bands, and  amply  vindicated  the  right  of  their  sex 
to  engage  personally  in  this  work.  The  former 
showed  how  a   delicate   and    cultivated    lady   could 

1  Knowles's  Memoir  of  Ann  H.  Judson,  p.  42. 

2  Gal.  ii.  9  ;  1  Cor.  ix.  5. 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  55 

"  endure  hardness  as  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ." 
The  latter,  having  greater  opportunity  and  a  differ- 
ent mental  constitution,  was  not  only  a  remarkable 

illustration  of  the  same  truth,  but  also  of  heroic 
courage  in  the  face  of  extreme  danger,  and  of  mar- 
velous resources  in  the  most  sudden  and  formidable 
emergencies.1 

The  missionary  is  worth  as  much  more  abroad, 
with  a  help-meet  for  him,  as  the  pastor  is  at  home. 
The  wife  is  endowed  with  equal  courage,  and  more 
endurance.  With  her  at  his  side,  he  is  less  likely  to 
flee  from  danger,  and  is  more  safe.  Among  barba- 
rians the  wife,  the  mother,  and  children  are,  under 
God,  a  defense.  There  are  grand  exceptional  men 
like  the  Apostle  Paul,  and  grand  exceptional  cases 
like  his  ;  but  marriage  should  be  the  general  rule, 
and  all  missionaries  may  claim  the  right  with  Paul, 
to  "  lead  about  a  wife,  as  the  other  apostles."  2 

Messrs.  Hall  and  Newell  made  such  progress  in 
the  language,  that  they  were  able  to  com-  Earlv  use  of 
mence  their  great  work  of  preaching  be-  preachlus 
fore  the  close  of  the  second  year,  though  of  course 
with  a  stammering  tongue.  As  the  people  did  not 
come  to  them,  they  went  to  the  people  ;  seeking 
them  in  the  temples,  markets,  and  other  places  of 
resort,  and  often  reading*  brief  portions  of  Scripture, 

1  See  Life  of  Mrs.  Ann  H.  Judson,  by  the  Rev.  James  D.  Knowles, 
1830. 

«  1  Cor.  ix.  5. 


56  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

which  they  had  carefully  translated.  They  also  es- 
tablished schools  for  heathen  youth,  and  expected 
large  spiritual  results  from  them. 

Mr.  Hall  was  married  December  16,  1813,  to  Miss 
,    Margaret  Lewis,  an  Egnlish  lady  familiar 

Marriage  of  ~  o  J 

Mr.  Haii.  ^yitli  the  Hiudustanee  language  and  native 
character. 

A  press  was  obtained  from  Calcutta  before  the 
u«eof  the  close  of  the  year,  through  the  aid  of  the 
press.  j^ey   jy|r  Thomason,  and  was  made  avail- 

able by  the  arrival  of  Rev.  Horatio  Bardwell,  who 
had  been  sent  to  Bombay,  rather  than  to  Ceylon, 
because  he  had  learned  the  art  of  printing. 

A  portion  of  each  day  was  devoted  to  translating 
the  Scriptures  from  the  Hebrew  and  Greek,  but  the 
main  business  of  the  laborers  at  first  was  the  acqui- 
sition of  the  Mahratta  language.  In  1817,  beside 
a  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,  they  had  translated  the 
Evangelists,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  several  of  the 
Epistles,  and  other  select  portions  of  the  Bible. 
The  Gospel  of  Matthew  was  the  first  printed.  In 
view  of  the  deficiency  of  native  workmen,  the  Pru- 
dential Committee  requested  Messrs.  Allen  Graves 
and  John  Nichols,  newly  appointed  missionaries,  to 
acquire  a  knowledge  of  type-founding  and  book- 
binding before  leaving  the  country. 

At  that  time,  and  long  after,  the  Christian  public 
comparative  were  more  ready  to  appreciate  schools  as  a 
schools.         missionary  agency,  than  the  preaching  of 


MISSION  TO    THE  M  All  R  ALT  AS.  57 

the  Gospel;  though  probably  few  well  informed 
Christians  would  have  denied  the  paramount  impor- 
tance of  the  latter.  In  the  small  number  of  con- 
versions during'  the  first  twelve  or  fifteen  years,  mis- 
sionaries and  the  churches  at  home  needed  the  sus- 
taining influence  of  schools.  Every  new  school, 
every  increase  in  the  number  of  scholars,  every  new 
reader  of  the  sacred  oracles,  was  an  omen  of  sue 
cess.  Indeed  it  was  a  success ;  and  the  Secretary 
wrote  to  the  missionaries  that  the  interest  of  the 
religious  community  in  the  education  of  heathen 
children  was  great  and  increasing,  so  that  the  con- 
tributions for  this  object  exceeded  the  most  sanguine 
expectations.  The  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  for 
1817  is  emphatic  on  this  point. 

The  interest  thus  awakened  at  home  was  founded, 
in  part,  on  a  misapprehension  of  facts.  The  plan 
involved  the  reception  of  heathen  children  into  mis- 
sion families,  and  giving-  them  new  names,  a  consid- 
erable number  of  which  were  sent  from  this  coun- 
try, with  the  means  of  supporting  those  to  whom 
the  names  should  be  given.  It  appeared,  however, 
that  the  missionaries  had  been  too  confident  about 
obtaining  children  for  a  family  Christian  education, 
even  from  the  lower  castes.  The  embarrassment  at 
home  from  this  discovery  was  relieved  by  informa- 
tion from  the  mission  in  Ceylon,  that  boarding  chil- 
dren could  there  be  obtained  and  named.  A  portion 
of  the  funds  was  accordingly   transferred  to   that 


58  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA 

mission,  and  the  residue  was  used  among"  the  differ- 
ent classes  of  half-caste  children  at  Bombay. 

The  free  day-schools  were  necessarily  taught  by 
heathen  masters,  as  it  was  impossible  then,  and  for 
a  long  time  afterwards,  to  obtain  others.  Nor 
could  the  heathen  have  been  then  persuaded  to  send 
their  children  to  Christian  teachers.  Every  effort 
was  made  by  means  of  school-books,  personal  super- 
vision, and  frequent  examinations,  to  have  the  in- 
struction Christian  as  far  as  possible.  The  monthly 
expenses  of  a  school  were  from  seven  to  twelve  dol- 
lars, and  the  teaching  was  in  the  vernacular  lan- 
o'uacrc.     There  was  also  a  school  for  teaching  the 

OCT  ct 

English  language  to  pupils  of  partially  European 
descent,  who  were  expected  to  pay  a  certain  amount 
for  tuition. 

The  mission  was  strengthened,  in  February,  1818, 
.  .       by  the  arrival  of  Messrs.  Graves  and  Nich- 

New  mission-        J 

anes-  ols  and  their  wives.     Sir  Evan  Nepean,  the 

friendly  Governor,  consented  to  their  remaining. 
Miss  Philomena  Thurston  arrived  with  this  company 
affianced  to  Mr.  Newell,  and  they  were  married  in 
the  month  following.  Mr.  Graves  was  stationed  at 
Mahim,  on  the  island  of  Bombay,  and  Mr.  Nichols 
at  Tanna,  on  Salsette;  the  one  among  sixteen  thou- 
sand people,  the  other  among  sixty  thousand.  The 
missionaries  made  tours  along  the  sea-coast,  preach- 
ing  the  gospel,  and  distributing  books. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  satisfaction  which 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAIIRATTAS.  59 

the  brethren  then  had  in  their  prospects  as  to  the 
schools.  After  stating'  how  large  a  number  Interestin 
of  heathen  youth  were  instructed  in  read-  scho0'8 
ing,  writing*,  and  arithmetic,  and  in  some  good  de- 
gree as  to  the  way  of  salvation  through  Jesus 
Christ,  they  exclaim;  "Here  is  a  measure  of  success 
far  exceeding  our  most  eager  hopes.  It  animates 
our  hearts,  and  we  cannot  but  believe  it  will  be 
highly  animating'  to  our  Christian  friends  at  home, 
by  whose  liberality  these  schools  are  supported.  In 
them  we  seem  to  see  a  thousand  Hindoo  hands  at 
work  from  year  to  year,  undermining  the  fabric  of 
Hindoo  idolatry." 

The  first  hopeful  convert  was  a  respectable  Mus- 
sulman named  Kader  Yar  Khan,  from  The  first 
Hyderabad,  a  city  four  hundred  miles  vert. 
southeasterly  from  Bombay,  who  had  come  to  gain 
instruction  in  the  Christian  religion.  This  was  in 
March,  1819.  He  had  been  awakened  by  reading  a 
tract,  while  on  a  visit  to  Bombay,  and  came  with  a 
train  of  servants,  but  sent  them  back,  and  lived  in 
retirement.  He  was  eager  for  instruction,  gained 
constantly  on  the  confidence  of  the  brethren,  and 
was  baptized  in  September,  with  the  strong  hope 
that  he  was  truly  born  of  God.  Becoming  a  Chris- 
tian laborer  in  the  Hindustanee,  he  performed  sev- 
eral tours  on  the  continent  with  books  and  tracts, 
as  far  eastward  as  his  native  place.  The  only  other 
notice  that  I  find  of  this  man  was  in    1823.     In  a 


60  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

letter  then  received  he  stated  that,  through  his  la- 
bors, five  persons  in  Hyderabad,  and  the  same  num- 
ber in  Secundrabad,  where  he  was  then  residing', 
had  avowed  their  belief  in  Christianity.  The  mis- 
sion wrote  inviting-  him  and  his  converts  to  come  to 
Bombay,  but  there  is  no  record  of  a  response  to  this 
invitation. 

Sir  Evan  Nepean  was  succeeded,  in  the  autumn 
a  new  gov-  0*  1819,  by  the  Hon.  Mount  Stuart  Elphin- 
stone,  who  had  held  a  responsible  position 
in  the  conduct  of  the  Mahratta  war,  and  was  a  man 
of  much  experience,  of  fine  classical  attainments, 
and  liberal  views.1  His  impressions  of  the  irascible 
and  warlike  temper  of  the  Mahrattas  were  strong-, 
and  the  first  application  of  the  missionaries  for 
leave  to  visit  their  schools  on  the  continent,  was  re- 
fused. 

When  afterwards  visited  by  a  missionary,  he  made 
ms  favor-      many  inquiries,  and  seemed  apprehensive 

able  disposi-  •  ■,        ■,  ,  1 

tion.  of  a  too  rapid  advance  against  the  preju- 

dices of  the  natives,  thus  endangering  the  public 
peace.  At  the  same  time,  he  approved  of  the  gen- 
eral object,  and,  in  a  subsequent  conversation  with 
Mr.  Hall,  requested  a  statement  as  to  the  purpose 
of  the  schools,  and  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
conducted.     A  memorial  was  therefore  addressed  to 

1  Among  his  publications  were  "An  Account  of  the  Kingdom  of  Can- 
bul  audits  Dependencies,  2  vols.,  1819  ;  and  The  History  of  India  in  the 
Hindii  and  Mohammedan  Periods,  1  vol.,  pp.  687. 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  61 

him,  in  April,  1820,  in  which  the  missionaries  stated 
that  their  schools  were  designed  to  impart  useful 
knowledge  to  the  children  of  the  natives,  who  would 
otherwise  receive  no  instruction,  or  what  was  very 
inferior.  They  expressed  an  earnest  desire  that  the 
religion  contained  in  the  Scriptures  might  he  made 
known  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  country,  and  be- 
lieved that  their  schools  would  promote  this  end, 
though  the  influence  would  be  gradual.  Very  little 
success  could  be  hoped  for,  unless  the  schools  were 
visited  by  the  missionaries  themselves. 

To  this  memorial  a  favorable  answer  was  returned, 
with  the  consent  of  the  Governor  to  their  visiting 
the  schools  on  the  continent ;  but  he  expressed  the 
hope,  that  no  reasonable  pretext  would  be  given  the 
Brahmins  to  represent  their  religion  as  interfered 
with. 

There  were  eight  schools  on  the  continent  in 
1822,  and  seventeen  on  the  islands  of  Bombay  and 
Salsette,  with  an  average  attendance  of  more  than 
one  thousand  pupils.  We  consider  our  schools,  say 
the  brethren,  as  a  very  important  part  of  our  mis- 
sion, and  are  confident  that  they  will  be  the  means 
of  effecting  much  good.  In  consequence  of  an  un- 
avoidable delay  in  remitting  funds,  it  became  nec- 
essary to  suspend  ten  of  them. 

Mr.  Bardwell  suffered  from  the  climate,  and  hav- 
ing no  prospect  of  continued  life  in  India,   Returnof 
he  returned  to  the  United  States  in  1821,  Wdi.     " 


62  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

where,  by  the  advice  of  able  physicians,  he  spent 
the  residue  of  a  long-  life.  He  lived  forty-six  years 
after  returning-  from  India,  and  died  greatly  re- 
spected by  all  who  knew  him.  His  widow  and  com- 
panion in  the  mission  still  lives. 

On  the  30th  of  May,  1821,  the  mission  suffered  a 
Death  of  Mr.  Sre'd^  l°ss  m  *ne  death  of  the  beloved  Mr. 
Newell,  who  was  a  victim  to  cholera,  which 
had  for  some  time  been  raging  in  India.  So  over- 
powering was  the  disease,  that  he  could  give  no  ex- 
pression of  his  feelings  ;  but  none  was  needed.  Mr. 
Newell  was  one  of  the  four  young  men  whose  me- 
morial called  the  American  Board  into  existence, 
and  his  devotion  to  the  cause  was  beyond  all  ques- 
tion. He  generally  enjoyed  good  health,  but  in  his 
later  years  his  feelings  were  at  times  deeply  moved 
by  the  woeful  condition  of  the  heathen,  and  by  a 
sense  of  his  own  responsibilities.  Shortly  before  the 
sickness,  he  spent  several  days  with  Mr.  Nichols  at 
Tannah,  and  visited  a  great  number  of  sick  and 
dying.  His  death  was  extensively  felt  as  a  public 
loss. 

The  Providence  which  called  Mr.  Bardwell  from 
.   .   ,  ,      the  care  of  the  press,  kindly  brought  Mr. 

Arrival  of  a  L  J  ° 

printer.  Garrett,  a  professed  printer,  soon  after  to 
Bombay,  where  his  services  were  more  needed  than 
in  Ceylon.  Sir  Edward  Barnes,  Governor  of  that 
island,  had  refused  him  permission  to  remain.  He 
subsequently    married    Mrs.   Newell,    who   survived 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  63 

him,  and  died,  many  years  afterwards,  in  her  native 
land. 

A  house  was  erected  for  public  worship  at  Bombay 
in  1822,  costing,  with  the  land,  between  g1™^;6 
four  and  five  thousand  dollars,  a  fourth  Sjp! 
part  of  which  was  contributed  in  India.  It  had  two 
stories,  the  upper  for  a  chapel,  the  lower  for  the 
press,  with  verandas  for  schools.  This  was  the 
first  Protestant  place  of  worship,  designed  for  na- 
tives, in  the  vast  region  from  Cape  Coniorin  to  the 
Russian  empire,  and  from  India  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean.1 

About  this  time  some  difficulties  arose  at  Poona, 
the  former   capital   of  the  Mahrattas,  in  interference 

r         .       .  on  "le  Conti- 

consequence  of  the  circulation  of  Christian  neut. 
books  among  the  natives.  There  appears  to  have 
been  no  real  cause  for  apprehension,  but  the  books 
were  seized  and  sent  back  to  Bombay,  with  the 
native  agents  employed  in  their  circulation,  and  an 
order  was  issued  by  the  government  forbidding  mis- 
sionary efforts  in  the  Deccau.  Such  an  order  could 
not  pass  without  a  respectful  remonstrance,  and  Mr. 
Hall  prepared  one,  setting  forth  the  useful  nature 
of  the  mission  and  its  operations,  and  requesting  a 
repeal  of  the  order.  The  Governor  replied,  that 
that  territory  was  but  newly  subjected  to  British 
rule,  and  the  request  could  not  be  granted  with 
safety  to  the  public  peace.     The  order  did  not  relate 

1  Missionary  Herald,  1823,  p.  314. 


64  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

solely  to  the  Aniericau  mission,  for  Scottish  mis- 
sionaries who  afterwards  obtained  a  permanent  foot- 
ing at  Poona,  were  also  excluded,  nor  was  the  order 
long  in  force.  As  if  to  take  from  the  apparent 
harshness  of  the  measure,  the  government  readily 
granted  the  request  of  the  mission  for  a  burying- 
ground,  and  spontaneously  inclosed  it  at  the  public 
expense  with  a  substantial  wall,  thus  showing  that 
the  mission  was  regarded  as  a  permanent  institu- 
tion. 

Yet  the  missionaries  had  apprehensions,  and  wrote 
to  their  good  friend  Mr.  Money,  then  in  England 
and  a  member  of  Parliament.  That  gentleman  im- 
mediately advised  the  Board  to  send  additional  mis- 
sionaries to  Bombay,  and  promised  to  use  his  iuflu- 
Receptionof  euce  in  their  behalf.  Accordingly  the  Rev. 
siouarv.  °  Edmund  Frost  and  wife  sailed  for  India  in 
September,  1823,  accompanied  by  Mrs.  Graves,  who 
had  visited  the  United  States  for  the  benefit  of  her 
health.  The  government  made  no  objection  to  Mr. 
Frost's  joining  the  mission. 

Scarcely,  however,  had  it  begun  to  feel  the  benefit 
^  „    ,,T     of  this  reinforcement,  before  it  was  called 

Death  of  Mr.  ' 

Nichols.  f.Q  mourn  the  death  of  another  beloved 
member.  Late  in  the  autumn  of  1824,  Mr.  Nichols 
went  over  to  the  southern  Concan  for  the  purpose 
of  preaching  and  visiting  the  schools  in  that  quar- 
ter. Ou  reaching  Revadauda  sixteen  miles  from 
Bombay,  he  became  too  ill  with  fever  to  proceed 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  65 

further.  Tidings  were  brought  to  his  brethren,  and 
they  succeeded  in  bringing  him  to  Bombay,  but  not 
until  ten  days  after  the  commencement  of  his  ill- 
ness, and  when  he  was  speechless  and  nearly  insen- 
sible. He  died  in  the  following-  night,  December  9, 
1824.  His  death  was  severely  felt,  as  he  was  of  an 
excellent  spirit  and  firm  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duty,  a  man  of  prayer  and  intent  on  the  salvation 
of  the  heathen.  He  was  a  judicious  counselor,  a 
warm  and  devoted  friend,  and  peculiarly  acceptable 
to  several  English  families  residing-  in  and  near 
Tannah,  to  whom  he  had  been  the  means  of  spiritual 
good.  He  had  successfully  studied  the  character 
and  language  of  the  people,  and  deserves  strong 
commendation  for  his  economy,  diligence,  and  the 
conscientious  performance  of  his  duty. 

A  school  for  Jewish  girls  was  commenced  at  Bom- 
bay this  year,  and  another  of  eighty-four  Schoolfor 
Jewish  boys  and  girls  at  Revadanda.  The  Jewish  girls 
whole  number  in  the  schools  at  this  time,  exceeded 
fifteen  hundred.  A  Mahratta  woman  named  Gunga 
was  employed  in  a  school  for  girls,  and  entered  upon 
the  business  with  rare  courage  and  alacrity.  But 
in  the  midst  of  great  hopes  as  to  her  success,  she 
was  suddenly  cut  down  by  cholera.  Among  those 
who  had  left  the  schools,  the  missionaries  knew  of 
many  boys  and  young  men,  who  could  read  with  a 
fluency  and  propriety  far  surpassing  a  great  majority 
of  the  common  brahmins.     These,  when  met  in  the 

5 


66  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

/  country,  were  found   among  the  first  to  read   the 
Christian  Scriptures  and  tracts. 

In  the  year  1825  the  missionaries  thus  contrasted 
their  condition  with  what  it  was  ten  years 

Ten  years  J 

cornered.  before#  "There  was  then  no  school  to 
catechize,  no  school-room  in  which  to  speak  of  sal- 
tation, no  chapel  to  preach  in  from  morning  to 
night,  no  portions  of  God's  Word  to  circulate,  no 
Christian  tracts  to  distribute.  Now  we  see  a  house 
built  for  God,  and  hear  his  Word  proclaimed  in  it. 
There  are  thirty-live  school-rooms  to  be  used,  had 
we  the  laborers,  as  so  many  meeting-houses ;  thirty- 
five  schools  containing  two  thousand  children  call- 
ing for  evangelical  instruction,  and  five  times  as 
many  districts  calling  for  additional  schools.  There 
are  the  means,  had  we  more  help,  of  printing  and 
distributing  annually  a  hundred  thousand  tracts  and 
portions  of  the  Bible,  and  a  half  million  of  souls  to 
whom  we  might  have  familiar  access  for  preaching 
the  Gospel,  while  the  field  for  pushing-  onward  all 
these  operations  is  opening  wider  every  day.  Things 
being  thus,  is  it  extravagant  to  say  that  a  mission- 
ary now  can  in  the  same  period  employ  five  or  ten 
times  as  many  of  the  appointed  means  of  salvation 
among-  these  natives,  as  could  possibly  have  been 
used  here  ten  years  ago  ?  " 

In  November,  1825,  an  Association  was  formed  by 
Aviation  the  missionaries  of  the  American  Board, 
aries.  the  Church  Missionary  Society  at  Bombay, 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAIIRATTAS.  67 

the  London  Missionary  Society  at  Surat  and  Bel- 
gaum,  and  the  Scottish  Missionary  Society  in  the 
Southern  Concan  ;  and  the  following-  Rules  and 
Principles  of  the  Union  were  adopted  :  — 

"  1.  That  an  Association  be  now  formed,  and  called 
The  Bombay  Missionary  Union. 

"2.  That  it  be  understood  that  the  members  of 
this  Union  hold  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the 
Reformation,  without  compromising  any  of  those 
tenets  on  which  they  may  conscientiously  differ. 

"  3.  That  the  object  of  this  Union  be  to  promote 
Christian  fellowship,  and  to  consult  on  the  best 
means  of  advancing  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  this 
country. 

"  4.  That  any  other  Protestant  mission  may  join 
this  Association. 

"  5.  That  an  Annual  Meeting  be  held  at  such 
place  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  agreed  upon, 
which  shall  commence  on  the  first  Monday  of  De- 
cember, and  be  open  to  all  Protestant  missionaries, 
ministers,  and  others,  who  may  be  disposed  to  pro- 
mote its  object. 

"  6.  That  at  each  anniversary  the  minutes  of  the 
preceding  meeting  be  read,  two  sermons  preached 
relating  to  missionary  concerns,  an  account  of  the 
different  missions  for  the  past  year  laid  before  the 
meeting,  the  missions  which  are  to  furnish  preachers 
for  the  ensuing  year  designated,  and  a  suitable  por- 
tion of  time  spent  in  special  prayer  and  in  religious 
and  moral  discussion. 


68  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

"  7.  That,  according  to  the  seniority  of  the  dif- 
ferent missions,  a  Chairman  and  Secretary  shall 
come  in  yearly  from  them  by  rotation." 

From  the  sermon  preached  by  Mr.  Hall  at  the 
Mr.  Hairs  meeting  of  this  Union,  I  extract  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  If,  therefore,  we  know  what  were 
the  conversion,  love,  repentance,  faith,  hope,  and 
zeal  of  Paul,  we  know,  in  substance,  what  are  the 
conversion,  love,  repentance,  faith,  hope,  and  zeal  of 
every  true  disciple  of  Jesus.  Circumstantial  diver- 
sities there  manifestly  are  among  the  different  mem- 
bers of  Christ's  body,  but  the  ground-work  in  every 
new-born  soul  is  one.  The  great  outlines  of  the 
Christian  character  are  everywhere  the  same.  It  is 
but  one  image,  and  that  —  O  wonder  of  wonders !  — 
the  image  of  the  God  of  glory,  which  is  stamped, 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  regeneration  upon  the  whole 
assembly  of  the  redeemed,  a  multitude  which  no 
man  can  number." 

The  month  preceding  the  death  of  Mr.  Nichols, 

«rcu"io,iSon  Mr-  Hal1  went  to  the  Ghats,  chiefly  to  look 
the  tJonti-      £or  a  ]iea]£n  retreat,  going  by  way  of  Ban- 

kote  and  thence  to  Mahad  at  the  head  of  navigu- 
tion  on  the  Bankote  river.  From  thence  he  trav- 
elled on  foot  twelve  miles  to  Beladpu.  Ten  miles 
further  on  he  rested  at  Parr,  a  small  village  with 
a  market,  where  the  only  lodging  place  for  Euro- 
peans was  a  temple  open  on  one  side,  but  with  a 
wall  of  masonry  on  the   other  three   occupied   by 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  69 

the  idol.  Securing'  a  spot  most  protected  from  the 
winds,  with  the  help  of  his  hlankets  and  a  fire,  he 
slept  tolerably  well.  The  next  day  he  reached  Ma- 
habaleshwar,  where  the  mission,  thirty  years  after- 
wards, had  a  sanitary  station.  The  place  was  famed 
for  a  spring-  of  excellent  water,  which  was  the  re- 
puted source  of  the  Krishna  river.  His  return  was 
by  the  same  route,  and  he  reached  home  on  the 
29th. 

The  worship  in  the  mission  chapel  being  defective 
in    the   department   of  song",  the    mission  improve- 

1  ,  .  merit  in  the 

adapted  the  most  appropriate  native  tunes  worship. 
to  hymns  they  had  themselves  prepared. 

The  printing  establishment  was  now  enriched  with       yC 
new  and  improved  type,  and  the  British  publishing    \y 
and    Foreign    Bible    Society    presented    a  tures. 
hundred  reams  of  paper  for  printing  the  translation 
of  the  New  Testament,  which  had  been   completed 
and  revised  by  the  mission.     Our  hopes,  said  Mr. 
Hall,  are  often  revived  by  reflecting  that  we  have 
distributed  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  Chris- 
tian books. 

Mr.  Frost  died  of  consumption   on  the  18th  of 
October,  1825.     Though  less  than   a   year  ^  „   ,„ 

o  J  Death  of  Mr. 

and  a  half  in  the  mission,  he  had  shown  Frost' 
the  genuineness  and   fervor  of  his  devotion  to  the 
cause,  and  was  enabled  to  meet  death  with  a  hope 
full   of   immortality.      He  encouraged   his  wife   to 
remain    a  missionary  after  his  decease,  which  she 


70  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

did,  having"  seen  the  need  there  was  in  that  country 
for  the  labors  of  Christian  women. 

The  two  sons  of  Mr.  Hall  were  much  out  of 
hIiu  k)fther8'  health,  and  the  only  hope  of  prolonging 
states'!  the  life  of  the  oldest,  then  four  years  of 

age,  was  in  a  voyage  and  change  of  climate.  Mrs. 
Hall  therefore  embarked  for  America  in  a  Salem 
vessel  with  her  two  children,  expecting  to  leave 
them  in  this  country  for  education.  Toward  the 
close  of  the  voyage  the  eldest,  whose  restoration 
had  been  the  principal  object,  died  of  fever.  The 
other,  now  the  Rev.  Gordon  Hall,  D.  D.,  of  North- 
ampton, Massachusetts,  arrived  in  good  health  No- 
vember 18,  1825. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  1826,  Mr.  Hall  entered  upon 
his  last  tour,  taking  with  him  two  lads  who  _.  ..   „„ 

'  ~  Death  of  Mr. 

had  been  inmates  of  the  mission  families,  HaU' 
and  reached  Trimbukeshwar  on  the  11th,  and  Nas- 
sick  on  the  15th,  both  populous  and  celebrated 
places,  the  latter  about  a  hundred  miles  from  Bom- 
bay. At  both  these  places  he  found  the  people  in 
great  consternation  on  account  of  the  recent  appear- 
ance of  the  cholera.  It  was  then  making  dreadful 
ravages  at  Nassik.  More  than  two  hundred  died 
on  the  day  of  his  arrival.  He  labored  among  the 
distressed  population  till  he  had  nearly  exhausted 
his  supply  of  books  and  medicines.  On  the  18th 
he  left  for  Bombay,  and  at  10  o'clock  p.  m.  on  the 
19th  arrived  at  Durlee  D'hapur,  about  thirty  miles 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  71 

on  his  way  homeward,  and  put  up  at  a  heathen  tem- 
ple for  the  night.  Spreading-  his  mat  in  the  veranda 
of  the  temple  he  lay  down  to  sleep.  As  it  was  cold 
he  sought  a  wanner  place,  which  he  found  occupied 
by  two  sick  men,  one  of  whom  soon  died.  Finding- 
no  g-ood  accommodations  there  he  returned  to  his 
former  position  in  the  veranda.  At  four  in  the 
morning-  of  March  20th,  he  called  up  the  lads  and 
began  preparations  for  the  journey,  when  he  was 
suddenly  seized  with  the  cholera.  So  sudden  and 
violent  were  the  spasms,  that  he  fell  helpless  to  the 
ground.  Being*  laid  upon  his  mat,  he  attempted  to 
take  a  small  quantity  of  medicine  which  remained 
in  his  possession,  but  it  was  immediately  rejected. 
He  then  told  his  attendants  that  he  should  not 
recover.  After  giving  directions  to  the  lads  con- 
cerning his  watch,  clothing,  etc.,  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  should  dispose  of  his  body,  he  assured 
them  and  the  natives  who  stood  around  him,  that 
he  should  soon  be  with  Christ.  He  exhorted  them 
to  repent  of  their  sins  and  forsake  their  idols,  that 
they  too  might  go  to  heaven,  and  prayed  earnestly 
for  his  wife  and  children,  for  his  missionary  brethren, 
and  for  the  heathen  around  him.  Repeating  thrice, 
"  Glory  to  Thee,  O  God,"  he  yielded  up  his  spirit. 

The  lads  had  much  difficulty  in  procuring  a  grave. 
They  laid  him,  shrouded  in  his  blanket  and  coffin- 
less,  in  his  humble  bed.  He  had  been  sick  eight 
hours,  and  died  in  the  forty-second  year  of  his  age. 


72  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

A  stone  monument  has  been  erected  by  the  mission 
to  mark  the  spot  of  his  interment,  bearing  both  in 
English  and  Mahratta  the  name,  age,  and  office  of 
their  beloved  fellow-laborer. 

The  writer  saw  Gordon  Hall  at  his  ordination  in 
Hischarac-  February,  1812,  at  Salem,  but  had  no  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  him,  nor  has  he 
any  recollection  of  his  appearance.  There  is  said 
to  be  no  portrait  of  him.  But  his  high  qualities 
as  a  man,  a  Christian,  and  a  missionary,  made  an 
impression  on  the  Christian  mind  of  his  own  and 
succeeding  generations.  He  was  oue  of  the  young 
men  whose  names  will  ever  stand  connected  with 
the  origin  of  the  American  Board.  His  self-conse- 
cration to  the  work  of  foreign  missions  dates  back 
to  his  college  life,  and  he  was  made  for  a  leader  in 
the  enterprise. 

Mental  energy  was  the  most  prominent  of  Mr. 
Hall's  natural  qualities,  and  fitted  him  for  great  un- 
dertakings. It  was  more,  however,  the  admirable 
combination  of  this  with  other  excellent  qualities, 
such  as  piety,  industry,  judgment,  courage,  and  de- 
cision, that  qualified  him  for  the  responsible  station 
to  which  Providence  assigned  him.  The  Apostle  to 
the  Gentiles  was  his  exemplar  and  study,  whom  how- 
ever he  resembled  more  in  the  strength  and  deci- 
sion of  his  character,  than  in  the  gentler  sympathies. 
He  was  more  largely  endowed  with  the  diplomatic 
talent  than  any  of  his  associates,  and  in  favoring 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAIIRATTAS.  73 

circumstances  the  rhetorical  and  logical  exercise  of 
this  talent  would  have  placed  him  in  the  front  rank 
of  diplomatists.     The  purpose  of  the  India  govern- 
ment to  send  him  away  from  India,  was  met  by  a 
stronger  purpose  to  remain  ;  and  the  forcible  and 
eloquent  memorials  which,  through  the  divine  bless- 
ing, ultimately  secured  the  right  to  labor  in  India, 
are  understood  to  have  been  from  his  pen.     Severest 
among  the  trials  of  his  faith    must  have  been  his 
toiling  through  twelve  years  with  scarcely  a  hopeful 
convert.    But  he  could  appreciate  the  circumstances, 
and  saw  that  he  was  laying  the  foundations  of  a 
magnificent  structure  to  the  glory  of  his  Redeemer. 
Mrs.   Hall  long  survived  her  husband,  and   died 
in  the  year  1868,  at  Northampton,  Massa-  Dcathof 
chusetts,  in    the   house   of  her   much   re- 
spected son,  who  testifies  concerning  her,  that  she 
loved   the   American   Board,   and    taught    him    to 
love  it. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MISSION   TO   THE   MAHRATTAS. 

1826-1834. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Hall  made  it  necessary  for  Mr. 
a.  .    ,  *,.      Graves  to  reside  in  Bombay.     The  mission 

State  of  the  J 

Mission.  was  now  reducec]  to  two  members ;  and 
subsequently  there  were  seldom  more  than  two  in 
that  city  at  one  time,  who  were  able  to  converse  with 
the  people.  In  education  there  was  a  material  ad- 
vance. A  separate  school  was  established  for  girls, 
and  with  generous  aid  from  English  residents,  the 
number  of  the  schools  was  increased  to  ten,  con- 
taining three  hundred  and  eighty  pupils.  Among 
the  more  liberal  contributors  were  Sir  John  Mal- 
colm then  Governor,  and  Mr.  Elphinstone  the  late 
Governor,  both  of  whom  had  witnessed  the  progress 
of  the  mission  from  the  beginning.  The  govern- 
ment allowed  the  erection  of  school-houses  iu  four 
unoccupied  lots  within  the  city. 

A  teacher  iu  one  of  the  schools  became  a  con- 
vert   to    Christianity,    and    gave    pleasing 

Hopeful  con-  J  '  °  ■  ° 

verts,  evidence  of  piety  on  her  death-bed.     Her 

conduct  in  the  near  prospect  of  death,  excited  the 


Sew  mis- 
sionaries. 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAIIRATTAS.  75 

attention  of  friends,  and  the  mother  came  regu- 
larly to  the  chapel,  and  listened  with  much  interest 
to  the  preaching.  This  she  continued  to  do  until 
health  failed,  and  during  her  whole  sickness  she 
declared  her  strong  faith  in  Christ  as  the  Saviour 
of  the  world.  Her  prayers  were  addressed  to  Him, 
and  her  hope  of  salvation  was  in  Him  alone.  Thus 
she  died. 

Messrs.  Cyrus  Stone  and  David  0.  Allen  joined 
the  mission  in  1827,  with  their  wives  and  v 
Miss  Cynthia  Farrar.  Mrs.  Frost  was  mar- 
ried to  Mr.  Woodward  of  the  American  mission  in 
Ceylon,  and  Mrs.  Nichols  to  Mr.  Knight  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  on  that  island. 

A  revised  edition  of  the  New  Testament  was  pub- 
lished at  the  expense  of  the  British  and   a  revised 
Foreign,  and  Bombay- Auxiliary  Bible  So-  went, 
cieties ;  also  several  religious  tracts,  and  a  revised 
hymn-book. 

A  native  superintendent  of  schools  toward  the 
close  of  1824  requested  admission  to  the  church. 
The  missionaries  were  hopeful  concerning'  him,  but 
not  being  fully  satisfied  as  to  his  piety,  adopted 
the  somewhat  novel  expedient  of  associating  him 
with  other  attendants  on  public  worship  in  "Mission 
what  they  called  a  "  Mission  Chapel  Congre-  gregHtion." 
gatiou."  The  subscribers  bound  themselves  to  at- 
tend public  worship,  and  regard  the  missionaries  as 
their   pastors;    and    the    missionaries    engaged   to 


76  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

watch  over  them,  and  minister  to  them  in  affliction 
as  Christian   pastors.     I  find  no  evidence  that  this 

arrangement  lasted  long.     The  first  native  admitted 
9 
a,  to  the  church  at  Bombay  was  1'rom  the  Chapel  Con- 

gregation.    This  was  in  November  1825. 

Babajee,  a  brahmin,  came  to  Bombay  in  1823, 
Babajee, a  and  was  employed  as  teacher  in  one  of  the 
convert.  schools.  In  the  spring-  of  1828,  the  mis- 
sion adopted  a  rule,  that  all  persons  in  their  employ 
should  stand  during  prayer  in  the  chapel.  This  was 
proper  in  itself,  was  practiced  elsewhere,  and  not 
forbidden  by  the  Hindu  sacred  books.  But  the 
brahmins  of  Bombay  were  afraid  that  so  much  com- 
pliance with  Christian  customs  would  lead  to  more, 
and  in  the  end  endanger  the  Hindu  religion  ;  so  a 
combination  was  formed  against  it.  All  the  brah- 
min teachers  except  Babajee  left  the  service  of  the 
mission;  and  he  was  threatened  with  a  loss  of  caste, 
should  he  comply  with  the  rule.  At  least  a  thou- 
sand brahmins  were  believed  to  be  present  at  one  of 
the  councils  assembled  to  consider  his  case  ;  and  the 
penances  imposed  on  him  were  so  humiliating,  that 
he  retired  for  a  season  to  the  Deccan.  The  storm 
soon  blew  over.  Other  teachers  were  eager  appli- 
cants for  the  vacated  places,  and  many  brahmins 
returned  to  the  schools  and  conformed  to  the  rule. 
Babajee  came  back,  and  resumed  his  duties  as 
teacher,  but  of  course  with  a  diminished  regard  for 
brahininism.  In  1S31  he  publicly  professed  his 
faith  in  Christ. 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  11 

The  girls'  schools  had  their  first  public  examina- 
tion   in    the  autumn  of   1828.     Somewhat  m,     ... 

Ihe  girls-        1/ 

more  than  three  hundred  girls  were  pres-  schooU- 
ent,  whose  ages  varied  from  six  to  eighteen.  Mr. 
Graves  examined  them  in  reading,  writing,  and  the 
catechism,  and  Miss  Farrar  exhibited  specimens  of 
plain  sewing.  The  scene  was  full  of  interest  and 
encouragement. 

There  were  supposed  to  be  not  far  from  eighteen 
thousand  Roman  Catholics  in  Bombay.  A  Roman 
few  were  descended  from  the  Portuguese,  Catholics- 
but  most  were  of  Hindu  origin,  whose  ancestors 
entered  the  Romish  church  two  centuries  before. 
Bombay  was  then  a  Portuguese  colony,  and  great 
efforts  were  made  by  the  Jesuits,  aided  by  the 
whole  power  and  patronage  of  the  government,  to 
multiply  proselytes.  These  converts  were  left  in 
nearly  the  same  state  of  superstition  and  idolatry 
in  which  they  were  found.  It  is  not  known  how 
far  their  long-continued  isolation  from  Hindu  social 
life  was  attributable  to  the  enforcing  power  of  caste. 
They  were  of  course  accessible  to  Jesuits  on  the  re- 
vival of  their  efforts  in  India. 

The  fourth  annual  meeting  of  the  Missionary 
Union  was  held  in  October,  1828,  and  con-  TbeMis,ioa. 
tinned  for  several  days.  Encouraging  re-  aTy 
ports  were  made  from  the  several  missions,  sermons 
were  delivered,  important  subjects  relating  to  mis- 
sionary operations  were  discussed,  there  was  a  gen- 


78  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

era]  examination  of  the  schools  for  females,  a  day 
of  fasting-  was  observed,  and  the  Lord's  Supper  ad- 
ministered. 

Nor  was  the  press  idle.  The  second  edition  of  the 
The  press.  Mahratta  New  Testament  was  in  progress, 
at  the  expense  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  So- 
ciety. The  characters  for  printing  the  native  lan- 
guage were  so  large,  that  five  thousand  copies  of 
the  Testament  cost  six  thousand  dollars.  An  edi- 
tion of  Mahratta  hymns  was  in  press,  and  religious 
tracts  were  printed  for  the  Bombay  Tract  Society. 
A  monthly  magazine  in  the  English  language,  called 
the  "  Oriental  Christian  Spectator,"  was  commenced 
at  private  expense,  and  edited  for  a  time  by  the 
joint  labors  of  an  American  and  a  Scottish  mission- 
ary and  two  English  laymen. 

In  1831  a  legacy  of  seven  thousand  rupees 
Legacy  and  ($3,500)  was  bequeathed  by  an  English  res- 
buiiding.  ident  at  Bombay  for  the  support  of  public 
worship  in  connection  with  the  American  mission. 
Twenty-four  years  afterwards,  this  was  applied  to 
the  building  of  a  more  commodious  house  of  wor- 
ship. A  score  of  teachers,  with  nearly  two  hundred 
of  the  more  advanced  pupils,  among  them  several 
brahmins,  were  accustomed  to  meet  there  for  a  cat- 
echetical exercise  in  the  Scriptures.  The  school- 
houses  were  occasionally  transformed  into  little 
Preaching      sanctuaries.     Much  divine  truth  was  also 

by  the  way-  . 

Bide.  dispensed  by  the  wayside,  and  m  places  of 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  79 

public  concourse;  and  the  hearers  were  sometimes 
as  many  as  the  speaker  could  reach  with  his  voice. 
Early  in  1830  Mr.  Stone  made  a  tour  of  eleven  days 
on  the  continent ;  and  Mr.  Graves  another  of  two 
hundred  miles,  in  which  he  visited  the  grave  of  Mr. 
Hall,  and  erected  a  small  monument  to  mark  the 
place.1 

The  additions  to  the  mission  in  the  six  years  fol- 
lowing 1829,  were  Messrs.  William  Her-  Ad(iiti0I18  to 
vey,  Hollis  Read,  William  Ramsey,  George 
W.  Boggs,  Sendol  B.  Munger,  Henry  Ballantine, 
Amos  Abbott,  William  C.  Sampson,  Elijah  A.  Web- 
ster, and  George  W.  Hubbard.  Messrs.  Sampson 
and  Webster  were  printers,  and  Mr.  Hubbard  super- 
intendent of  schools.  All  were  married  men,  and 
there  were  two  single  females, — Misses  Orpah 
Graves  and  Abigail  H.  Kimball,  the  former  of 
whom  married  Mr.  Allen,  and  the  latter  Mr.  Stone. 

The  power  of  the  Gospel  is  nowhere  more  visible 
than  anions  the  girls  and  women  of  India,  popularity 

mi  of  girls' 

Nothing  else  could  reach  them.  The  schools. 
twelve  schools  for  girls  in  Bombay  contained  four 
hundred  pupils,  and  their  proficiency  was  securing 
much  popular  favor  to  the  schools.  Sir  John  Mal- 
colm, the  Governor  of  Bombay,  presented  the  Amer- 
ican   missionaries  with    three   hundred    rupees   for 

1  The  author  has  the  impression  that,  although  more  than  forty 
years  have  elapsed,  the  last  earthly  resting-place  of  that  remarkable 
man  has  as  yet  no  fitting  memorial. 


80  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

them,  and  other  English  friends  added  twelve  hun- 
dred more.  The  girls  were  learning-  to  read  printed 
books,  but  had  a  prejudice  against  needle-work  as 
being-  mean  and  degrading,  but  Miss  Farrar  had  so 
far  overcome  this  prejudice  that  they  were  becom- 
ing fond  of  it,  of  course  greatly  to  their  advantage 
?,'l(,oisof      when  they  had  families  to  care  for.     The 

liraUiiiia 

i>oye.  boys'  school  at  Nagotna,  one  of  the  best  in 

the  mission,  contained  thirty-five  brahmin  boys,  and 
forty  readers,  most  of  whom  had  committed  to  mem- 
ory the  commandments  and  catechism,  and  under- 
stood the  simple  rules  of  arithmetic.  In  another 
place  were  two  schools  composed  entirely  of  brah- 
min children. 

It  was  obvious  in  1831,  that  the  field  was  grow- 
„        ing  in   interest.      Eighteen    years  before, 

Signs  of  »  a  .'  ? 

progress.  .j.^  nafcjves  uafl  never  heard  the  Gospel 
preached.  No  part  of  the  Scriptures  had  been 
translated.  Nothing  had  been  done  to  attract  at- 
tention to  the  Christian  religion.  The  missionaries 
were  indeed  in  Bombay,  but  were  without  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  language,  without  books,  or  printing 
press,  or  schools,  without  a  place  for  preaching, 
without  the  favor  of  government,  and  wholly  un- 
known to  the  native  population.  And  when  they 
contemplated  the  structure  of  society,  so  artificial, 
so  bound  up  in  the  idolatry  and  laws  of  India  which 
made  the  forfeiture  of  property  the  penalty  for  re- 
nouncing the  Veda,  or  the  Koran,  they  must  have 


MISSION   TO    THE   MAHRATTAS.  81 

regarded  the  visile  results  of  their  labors  as  cer- 
tainly remote.  ^But  now  the  note  of  preparation  was 
heard,  the  language  was  acquired,  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  portions  of  the  Old  were  translated  and 
printed,    elementary    school-hooks    were    published, 
schools  were   established,  a   house   of  worship  was 
built  in  the  centre  of  Bombay,  and  opened  regularly 
for  all  who  would  enter,  the    markets    and    other 
public  places  were  frequented  for  conversation  and 
preaching,  journeys  were  made  in  the  interior,  and 
schools  were  multiplied.    After  a  residence  of  twelve 
years,  Mr.  Hall  declared  that  the  facilities  for  mak- 
ing men  acquainted  with  the  Gospel  had  multiplied 
tenfold  since  his  arrival  in  1813.     At  the  time  of 
our  present  survey,  there  were  eight  missionary  sta- 
tions within  the  Presidency  of  Bombay,  connected 
with  five  different  societies,  British  and  American, 
and  the  government  protected  the  Christian  mission- 
ary in  every  part  of  the  country.     The  printing  at 
Bombay  from  April,  1817,  to  the  close  of  1830,  was 
about  10,000,000  of  pages  ;    in  the  last  twenty-two 
months  of  that  period  it  was  nearly  3,000,000.    The 
larger  part   of  the    expense  was  borne  by  the  Brit- 
ish  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.    A  lithographic  press 
was  received  by  the  mission,  and  reudered  valuable 
assistance. 

In  October,  1830,  two  members  of  the  church  died, 
one  a  native  of  Denmark,  who  had  been  InterestiUg 
recovered    from    a   profligate  life  through 

6 


cases. 


Death  of  Mr 
Garrett. 


82  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

the  instrumentality  of  Mr.  Hall,  and  another  from 
Massachusetts,  who  had  been  hopefully  converted  at 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  He  was  born  in  one  of  the 
most  enlightened  portions  of  the  world,  learned  the 
preciousness  of  the  gospel  from  missionaries  in  an 
island  remote  from  his  native  land,  and  at  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  globe  was  received  into  the 
church  by  other  missionaries  sent  forth  by  the  same 
Society. 

Mr.  Garrett  had  charge  of  the  press  ten  years. 
The  close  of  his  life,  which  occurred  on 
the  16th  of  July,  1831;  at  the  early  age  of 
thirty-four,  was  happy.  On  the  day  preceding',  the 
score  of  native  workmen  in  the  office  called  to  see 
him,  and  as  he  addressed  them  in  Mahratta  with 
appropriate  exhortations,  many  of  them  sobbed 
aloud.  His  strength  failing  he  bade  them  farewell, 
but  they  retired  reluctantly  from  the  room. 

Mrs.  Hervey  died  of  cholera  on  the  third  of  May 
Death  of  Mr.  1831,  not  long  after  her  arrival.  Her  hus- 
Hcrvey.  band  then  removed  to  Ahmednuggnr,  and 
became  a  victim  of  the  same  disease  on  the  13th  of 
the  next  May.  They  were  lovely  in  their  lives,  and 
in  their  deaths  not  long  divided.  I  remember  the 
very  expressive  countenance  of  Mrs.  Hervey,  when 
taking  her  last  look  of  friends  in  her  native  land 
while  the  ship  slowly  receded  from  the  wharf.  She 
was  from  Hadley,  Massachusetts.  The  close  of  life 
was  to  her  exceedingly  joyful.     Twice  she  repeated 


mSJSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  83 

that   beautiful   stanza,  "  Jesus   can    make   a  dying 
bed."     One  who  stood  near  her  said,   "0  mm.  Her- 

vey'a  dying 

death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave,  experience. 
where  is  thy  victory?  The  sting  of  death  is  sin, 
and  the  strength  of  sin  is  the  law."  With  ani- 
mation she  exclaimed,  "  But  thanks  be  unto  God, 
which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  Mr.  Allen  said  he  hoped  the  Saviour  would 
be  with  her  as  she  walked  through  the  dark  valley. 
"  If  this,"  she  said,  "  be  the  dark  valley,  it  has  not  a 
dark  spot  in  it  —  all  is  light,  light."  At  one  time 
she  wanted  words  to  express  her  views  of  the  maj- 
esty and  glory  of  Christ.  "  It  seems,"  she  said, 
"  that  if  all  other  glory  were  annihilated,  and  noth- 
nothing  left  but  his  bare  self  (as  she  expressed  it), 
it  would  be  enough,  it  would  be  a  universe  of 
glory."i 

Mr.  Hervey's  illness  accomplished  its  painful  mis- 
sion in  a  few  hours,  and  such  was  its  vio-  DeathofMr 
lence  that  he  was  scarcely  able  to  express  Uervey- 
more  than  his  confidence  of  soon  meeting  his  Re- 
deemer and  Lord.  He  possessed  a  fine  and  well 
cultivated  mind,  was  able  to  converse  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country,  and  had  awakened  high  hopes 
as  to  his  future  usefulness. 

Messrs.  Allen  and  Read  attended  a  meeting  of 
the  Missionary  Union  at  Poona  in  1831,  where 
the  Scottish  missionaries  had  a  station,  and  after- 

1  Missionary  Herald  for  1831,  p.  379. 


84  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

wards  visited  many  parts  of  the  Deccan  to  ascertain 
,.     .  the  most  eligible  place  for  an  interior  sta- 

Ahmednug-  O  I 

forTuMv63  tion.  They  selected  the  city  of  Ahmednug- 
gur,  and  the  station  was  commenced  in  the 
closing  month  of  the  year  by  Messrs.  Graves,  Hervey, 
and  Head.  Babajee  was  their  native  helper.  The 
itsadvau-  c^v  *s  llPon  a  plain  twelve  or  fifteen  miles 
in  extent,  about  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  miles  easterly  from  Bombay.  Its  population 
was  not  far  from  fifty  thousand.  Once  a  seat  of 
Moslem  power,  its  palaces,  mosks,  aqueducts,  and 
numerous  ruins  show  it  to  have  been  a  place  of 
much  splendor.  It  was  surrounded  by  a  high  wall 
of  stone  and  clay  four  or  five  miles  in  extent,  and 
there  was  a  strong  fort  a  mile  east  of  the  city, 
half  a  league  in  circumference,  with  a  cantonment 
of  English  soldiers.  In  the  vicinity  were  numer- 
ous villages  easy  of  access.  The  climate  was  health- 
ful. Before  the  end  of  the  second  year  three  na- 
tives of  low  caste,  in  whose  conversion  Babajee 
had  been  much  interested,  were  received  into  the 
church,  and  the  brahmin  convert  wept  for  joy.  Be- 
„  .  .  ,  fore  leaving  Bombay  he  had  been  united  in 
marriage.  Christian  marriage  to  a  widow,  whose  hus- 
band, dying  before  they  were  old  enough  to  live 
together,  had  left  her  to  a  forced  life  of  solitary 
wretchedness. 

Another  native   helper  transferred  from  Bombay 
to   Ahmeduuggur   was    Dajiba,    mentioned    in   the 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAIIRATTAS.  85 

missionary  journals  of  1830  as  a  reader  of  the  Scrip- 
tures and  candidate  for  baptism.  He  be-  D.ljibaan. 
longed  to  one  of  the  higher  castes,  and  otUerhelPer 
said  in  view  of  impending  persecution,  "  Let  ray 
caste  take  my  life  for  embracing  Christianity  if 
they  choose.  Better  to  lose  my  life,  than  ray  soul." 
Some  time  after,  returning  home  in  the  evening  he 
was  met  by  several  men  in  a  cart,  one  of  whom 
recognized  him  and  cried  out,  "  There  is  the  apos- 
tate." Three  of  them  then  jumped  out,  knocked 
him  down,  tore  his  clothes,  and  beat  and  kicked  him 
till  he  was  unable  to  walk  home ;  and  he  was  con- 
fined to  his  house  for  a  week.  The  offenders  imme- 
diately drove  off  and  escaped. 

In  the  early  part  of  1833  a  church  was  organized 
at  Ahmednuggur.     Babajee  was  made  an  New  church 

and  native 

elder,  and  Dajiba  a  deacon.  The  pastoral  officers. 
relation  was  sustained  by  Mr.  Read,  one  of  the  mis- 
sionaries. If  they  had  had  twenty  years  more  of  j 
experience,  Babajee  would  probably  have  been  made 
the  pastor.  The  members  of  the  church  formed 
themselves  into  a  society  for  promoting  Christian 
morals,  and  adopted  a  score  of  rules,  drawn  up  by 
Babajee.1 

The  wife  of  Babajee  was  awakened  by  witnessing 
the  peaceful  death  of  Mr.  Hervey,  and  was  Remarkable 

"  native  Chris- 

received  into  the  church  in  1832.    She  had   aanwoman. 

learned  to  read  and  to  sew,  and,  in  the  absence  of 

1  For  these  Rules,  see  Report  of  the  Board  for  1833,  p.  57. 


86  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

her  husband  and  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Read,  she  daily 
read  the  Scriptures  and  prayed  with  the  converts 
and  others,  who  were  accustomed  to  attend  the  fam- 
ily worship  of  the  mission.  On  the  Sabbath  she 
assembled  them  in  her  own  house  at  the  customary 
hours,  prayed  with  them,  and  read  and  explained 
the  Scriptures  as  she  was  able. 

Most  of  the  large  villages  on  the  shore  of  the 
Labors  on  continent  had  been  visited  by  the  mission- 
nent.  aries,  aud  some  of  them  repeatedly,  from 

Basseen  thirty  miles  north  of  Bombay  to  Rajapur 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  south.  In  a  number 
of  villages,  each  with  a  population  of  from  fifteen 
hundred  to  two  thousand,  Christian  schools  had 
long  been  supported  and  supplied  with  Christian 
books  by  the  mission.  They  were  all  accessible  by 
water  from  Bombay. 

In  the  year  1832  the  Rev.  John  Wilson,  now  Dr. 

Puwic  dis-      Wilson,  a  member  of  the  Scottish  mission, 

/  withb»h-     engaged   in    a  discussion  with  intelligent 

\y        niins  and 

others.  natives    through    the    press.      A   learned 

Mahratta,  conceiving  himself  able  to  refute  all  the 
objections  brought  against  the  Hindu  religion,  pro- 
posed a  public  discussion  with  Mr.  Wilson.  This 
was  attended  by  a  great  number  of  brahmins  and 
other  respectable  natives,  some  of  whom  gave  much 
•  aid  to  the  prime  mover,  aud  was  continued  six  suc- 
cessive evenings,  till  the  brahmins  proposed  its  ter- 
mination.    The  native  disputant  then   published  a 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  87 

treatise  entitled  "  A  Verification  of  the  Hindu  Re- 
ligion," and  challenged  Mr.  Wilson  to  write  a  reply, 
which  was  readily  done.  The  same  missionary,  who 
was  long  since  numbered  among  the  learned  men  of 
India,  also  conducted  a  controversy  with  some  lead- 
ing Parsees,  carried  on  chiefly  in  two  native  period- 
icals. The  editor  of  one  of  the  periodicals  being 
furnished  with  copies  of  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  for 
each  of  his  subscribers,  went  so  far  as  to  recommend 
the  Gospel  to  their  perusal. 

Mrs.  Allen   died  on    the  5th  of  February,  1832, 
and  Mr.  Allen  made  a  visit  to  the  United  „ 

Rev.  D.  0. 

States  early  in  the  following  year,  with  his  Alleu 
motherless  son.     He   soon  became  so  strongly  im- 
pressed  with  the    growing  disposition    among   the 
churches  at  home  to  supply  the  heathen  world  with 
the   Scriptures  and  other  religious   books,  that   he 
hastened  his  return  to  India,  intending  to  itinerate 
four   years   as    a  Bible    and   tract   distributor,  and 
preach  the  gospel  wherever  he  left  the  printed  word. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boggs  arrived  in  September,  18o2, 
and  proceeded  to  Ahniednuo-o-m-  where  Mr.    , 
and  Mrs.  Read  were  then  alone,  with  the  sionary' 
native  assistants  Babajee   and   Dajiba.      Mr.   Read 
and  Babajee  visited  more  than  fifty  villages  Extensive 

...   .  ,  i         i  »i  .,  .  i  .  ,      preaching 

within  a  hundred  miles  ot  their  station,  not  tours. 
more  than  two  of  which  were  known  to  have  been 
previously  visited   by  a  missionary.     At  one  place, 
containing  about  twenty-five  thousand  inhabitants, 


88  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

the  native  government  published  an  order  forbid- 
ding- the  people  to  hear  them,  and  threatening  to 
fine  every  person  who  should  receive  one  of  their 
books.  The  mandate  of  the  government  was  openly 
disregarded  by  the  people,  all  classes  coming  to 
obtain  books  and  hear  the  preachers,  and  nowhere 
had  they  such  large  audiences.  They  parted  with 
all  the  books  they  could  spare,  but  were  not  able  to 
supply  the  demand. 

Mr.  William  C.  Sampson,  a  printer,  arrived,  with 
Death  ana      liis  wife,  in  May,  1833.     In  April  of  that 

character  of  ,  .  .  . 

Babajee.  year,  the  native  assistant  Babajee  died  at 
Ahuiednuggur.  Being  by  birth  a  brahmin,  he 
knew  the  prejudices  and  superstitions  of  his  people, 
and  was  familiar  with  their  sacred  books.  He  knew 
how  proud  yet  degraded  they  were,  how  credulous 
yet  suspicious,  how  wise  yet  ignorant,  how  religious 
and  yet  how  ungodly.  His  appeals  to  the  corrupt 
priesthood  from  which  he  came  out,  were  as  pointed 
arrows,  prepared  not  in  the  spirit  of  rancorous  bit- 
terness but  of  divine  love.  They  could  not  but 
respect  him  for  the  adroitness  with  which  he  used 
his  weapons,  though  they  hated  him  as  a  deserter 
from  their  cause.  His  devout  deportment,  the  thou- 
sands of  books  he  distributed,  his  exhortations  and 
prayers,  his  frequent  discussions  with  the  brahmins, 
his  preaching*  at  Ahmednuggur,  and  in  more  than 
fourscore   towns  and  villages  in  the  Deccan,  must 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  89 

have  left  an  abiding1  influence.1      His  pious   widow 
was  in  due  time  married  to  Dajiba. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graves  had  visited  their  native  land, 
as  a  last  resort  for  the  restoration  of  his  Deathof 
health,  and  returned  in  1833 ;  and  on  the  ftlrs  stone- 
7th  of  August  Mrs.  Atossa  Stone  died  at  Bombay. 

A  change  was  made  about  this  time  in  the  native 
service  of  song   at  Bombay.     The    native  change  in 

the  service 

tunes  were  found  better  adapted  to  the  Ian-  of  song. 
guage  and  feelings  of  the  people,  than  any  in  use 
among  us.  A  collection  of  Christian  hymns  was 
therefore  made  to  take  the  place  of  the  hymns  set 
to  European  music,  and  the  singing  of  the  native 
tunes  attracted  many  to  the  sanctuary. 

The  year  1833  was  distinguished  for  itineracies. 
In  January  Mr.  Read  and  Babajee  visited  Extensive 
nineteen  villages  northeast  of  Ahmednug-  tours. 
gur,  that  had  never  before  seen  a  missionary.  In 
March  Mr.  Read  crossed  the  country,  two  hundred 
miles,  to  the  Mahabaleshwar  Hills,  going  by  way  of 
Satara,  the  capital  of  a  nominally  independent  Rajah. 
In  December  Messrs.  Read  and  Ramsey  spent  four- 
teen days  in  visiting  the  mission  schools  on  the  con- 
tinent, which  they  found  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
The  same  brethren,  at  the  close  of  the  month,  com- 
menced an  extended  tour  in  the  Concan  and  Deccan  ; 

1  A  Memoir  of  him  was  prepared  and  published,  both  in  Mahratta 
and  English,  entitled,  in  English,  The  Christian  Brahmin,  or  Me- 
moirs of  Babajee,  in  two  volumes,  by  Rev.  Hollis  Read. 


90  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

going-  first  along  the  coast  one  hundred  miles  to 
Taunah  and  Bhewndy ;  thence  across  the  Ghats  to 
Ahmednuggnr,  two  hundred  miles  ;  thence  eastward 
to  Jain  a,  northeastward  to  Aurungabad,  northwardly 
to  Ellora,  and  back  to  Ahmednuggur;  in  all,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Mr.  Ramsey  now  returned 
to  Bombay ;  and  Mr.  Read,  with  Mr.  Allen,  who 
had  arrived  at  Ahmednuggnr,  proceeded  to  Pander- 
pur,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  southward  ; 
thence  sixty-five  miles  westwardly  to  Phatau.  Here 
the  travellers  separated,  and  Mr.  Read  proceeded  to 
the  Mahabaleshwar  Hills,  where  Mrs.  Read  had 
been  residing  for  the  restoration  of  her  health.  The 
whole  distance  travelled  by  Mr.  Read  had  exceeded 
seven  hundred  miles ;  and  these  tours,  for  preach- 
ing and  distributing  the  Scriptures  and  religious 
tracts,  were  performed  among  the  most  energetic 
of  the  Hindu  race.  Mr.  Read  had  travelled  among 
a  people  not  many  years  before  addicted  to  plunder, 
without  arms  or  a  guard,  the  mode  most  becom- 
ing missionaries  of  the  Gospel  of  peace,  and  had 
met  with  neither  insult  nor  harm.  His  safety  he 
attributed,  under  God,  to  the  humble  style  in  which 
he  travelled,  in  the  spirit  of  our  Saviour's  charge  to 
his  first  missionaries. 

Messrs.   Henry   Ballantine   and    Elijah  A.  Web- 
ster  and    their  wives    joined    the    mission 

New  mis-  " 

nonaita.  in  October,  1835.  Mr.  Webster  knew  how 
to  manufacture  types  and  stereotype  plates.     Miss 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  91 

Kimball    had    married    Mr.    Stone.      Mrs.    Ramsey 

had    died    suddenly    of   cholera ;   and  Mr.  Death  of 

Mrs  Ram- 
Ramsey's  health  was  so  prostrated  that,  on  sey,  and  her 

J  *  husband's 

the  urgent  recommendation  of  physicians,  return 
and  with  the  unanimous  consent  of  his  brethren,  he 
returned  to  the  United  States,  taking*  with  him  his 
two  little  children ;  nor  was  he  able  again  to  return 
to  India. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact,  which  I  state  on  my  per- 
sonal   knowledge,  that   when    Mr.   Graves  Missionary 

.  ....        devotion  of 

was  informed  by  an  eminent  physician  in  Mr.  Graves. 
Boston,  that  he  could  not  recover,  he  requested,  as 
a  favor  from  the  Prudential  Committee,  that  he 
might  return  and  spend  the  residue  of  his  days,  and 
be  buried,  where  he  had  so  delightfully  spent  his 
life  as  a  missionary.  That  consent  was  cheerfully 
given,  and  he  lived  longer  than  he  probably  would 
have  done  in  his  native  land ;  long  enough  to  per- 
form useful  service  as  a  translator  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. 

The  health  of  Mr.  Sampson,  the  printer,  had  failed 
before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Webster,  and  he  .,  ..    f.. 

Death  of  Mr. 

had  embarked,  with  Mrs.  Sampson,  on  a  Sampsou- 
voyage  for  Singapore,  hoping  to  arrest  the  progress 
of  consumption,  to  which  he  was  constitutionally 
inclined.  Mr.  Boggs  accompanied  them  down  the 
coast;  but  they  could  go  no  farther  than  Aleppie, 
where  Mr.  Sampson  died. 
The  amount  of  travel  which  Mr.  Read  performed 


92  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

without  apparent  injury  to  his  health,  is  surpris- 
Retumof  ing ;  but  the  constitution  of  Mrs.  Read 
Read.  was  delicate,  and  her  life  was  repeatedly  in 

great  danger  from  attacks  of  serious  illness.  They 
therefore,  with  the  advice  of  the  mission,  sailed  for 
home  in  March,  1835 ;  and  the  same  cause  which 
brought  them  home  prevented  their  return  to  India. 
The  active  mmd  of  Mr.  Read  has  since  found  use- 
ful employment  through  the  press.  His  departure 
made  it  necessary  for  Mr.  Allen  to  spend  much  time 
at  Ahmednuggur,  where  his  preaching  service  on 
Sabbath  afternoons  was  often  crowded,  though  the 
brahmins  tried  him  by  their  opposition. 

In  the  autumn  of  1834,  Mr.  Allen  visited  Jalna,  a 
Mr  Mien  at  hundred  and  twenty  miles  northeast  of  Ah- 
jaina.  mednuggur,  in  the  dominions  of  the  Nizam 

of  Hyderabad,  containing  about  seventy-five  thou- 
sand inhabitants.  The  Nizam  was  a  Mussulman, 
and  the  proportion  of  Mussulmaus  in  the  part  of  his 
dominions  which  fell  under  Mr.  Allen's  notice,  was 
.  „,  ...       unusually  large.    The  most  singular  occur- 

A  Christian  J  &  » 

covered1'8  reuce  at  Jalna  was  the  discovery  of  a  native 
Christian  society  of  forty  or  fifty  members, 
£,  i  I  without  any  pastor.  Their  origin  reveals  a  possible 
mode  of  propagating  the  Gospel  in  India.  The  mili- 
tary force  there  of  five  or  six  thousand  was  com- 
posed of  natives,  excepting  about  one  hundred 
English  soldiers.  These  native  Christians  were  con- 
nected with  the  officers  as  servants,  and  came  from 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  93 

districts  in  the  Madras  Presidency,  more  or  less 
under  missionary  influence.  Two  or  three  years  be- 
fore, one  of  them  succeeded  in  getting  a  few  to 
meet  on  the  Sabbath  for  worship,  which  he  usually 
conducted  himself.  A  pious  officer,  hearing  of  the 
meeting,  encouraged  and  assisted  them.  Meanwhile 
their  number  increased.  Some  persons  belonging 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  united  with  them, 
and  so  did  some  of  the  heathen.  As  they  became 
better  known,  an  interest  was  awakened,  a  conven- 
ient place  was  procured  for  worship,  and  a  native, 
who  had  been  educated  at  Madras  as  a  catechist, 
was  procured  to  be  their  religious  teacher. 

Mr.  Allen  naturally  came    into  connection   with 
these  people,  and  was  greatly  pleased  with  their  ap- 
pearance, and  the  apparent  devotion  of  their  wor- 
ship.    They  had  expected  him,  and  gathered  about 
him  as  a  religious  teacher.     There  was  no  chaplain 
there,  and  several  were  desirous  of  being  baptized, 
and  some  wished  to  be  married.    They  also  earnestly 
requested  him  to  administer  the  Lord's  Supper  be- 
fore leaving  them.     With   a  view  to  ascertain  the 
qualifications  of  different  persons  for  the  ordinances, 
he  had  frequent  conferences  with  individuals,  and 
attended  several  public  meetings.     He  baptized  four 
individuals,  performed  two  marriages,  and  adminis- 
tered the  Lord's  Supper,  in  the  native  language,  to 
fourteen  communicants.    Some  of  these  persons  were 
members  of  mission  churches  in  different  parts  of 


94  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

India ;  some  had  been  educated  in  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic religion,  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  commem- 
orated the  death  of  Christ  in  the  manner  prescribed 
to  his  disciples  ;  and  some  had  renounced  the  wor- 
ship of  idols.  One  had  been  notorious  for  dissolute 
habits  and  groveling*  vices,  but  for  a  year  had  given 
remarkable  evidence  of  piety. 

Mr.  Allen  preached  in  English  to  the  European 
An  interest-  population  on  five  of  the  ten  days  he  spent 
mfntai  com-   at  Jalmi ;  and  on  the  evening*  of  the  last 

memora- 

tion-  Sabbath  he  administered  the  Lords  Sup- 

per to  twenty  persons,  who,  though  of  different  de- 
nominations, united  in  commemorating*  the  death  of 
their  common  Saviour.  He  returned  to  Bombay  by 
way  of  Aurungabad,  about  forty-five  miles  nearly 
west  of  Jalua,  named  after  the  famous  emperor 
Auruugzebe ;  where  is  now  a  splendid  mausoleum 
erected  by  him  to  the  memory  of  his  favorite  wife. 
Auruugzebe  died  at  Ahmednuggur,  and  his  body 
was  brought  to  Ellora,  sixteen  miles  northwest  of 
Aurungabad,  a  favorite  place  of  Mohammedan  sepul- 
ture, and  was  there  buried,  agreeably  to  his  own  re- 
Theexcava-  quest,  without  pomp  or  splendor.  Being 
ior"s  within  a  short  distance  of  Ellora,  Mr.  Allen 

went  out  to  see  the  celebrated  excavations,  said  far 
to  exceed  anything  of  the  kind  in  India ;  and  a 
brief  description  of  them,  as  given  by  him,  may 
properly  form  a  part  of  the  history  of  missions  in 
that  portion  of  the  Deccan. 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  95 

"  These  excavations,"  he  says,  "  were  designed  as 
places  of  worship.  The  largest  of  them  is  called 
Kylas.  Here  a  court  is  excavated  in  the  mountain, 
the  entrance  into  which  is  through  a  gateway  on 
the  west  side,  where  the  mountain  gradually  slopes 
away  to  the  plain.  This  court  is  two  hundred  and 
forty-seven  feet  long  and  one  hundred  and  titty  feet 
wide.  The  height  of  the  walls,  composed  of  the 
living  rock,  vary  from  thirty  or  forty  to  one  hundred 
feet,  where  the  mountain  is  highest  at  the  east  end 
of  the  court.  In  these  walls  are  several  large  exca- 
vated rooms  and  halls,  which  were  designed  for  pur- 
poses connected  with  the  temple.  A  large  mass  of 
rock  was  left  standing  near  the  middle  of  the  court, 
which  was  then  cut  down  on  all  sides  to  the  size  of 
the  temple.  This  was  then  completed  internally  by 
excavating  the  rooms  requisite  to  complete  the  de- 
sign. The  external  sides  of  the  temple,  even  to  the 
top,  which  is  ninety  feet  high,  are  covered  with 
images  of  gods,  men,  and  animals  of  different  sizes, 
all  carved  in  the  rock.  The  walls  and  pillars  in  the 
inside  are  also  covered  with  images  of  various  kinds 
and  sizes,  carved  in  the  same  manner.  In  the 
great  hall  four  rows  of  pillars  are  left  to  support  the 
immense  weight  of  the  rock  above.  Thus  the  tem- 
ple, with  all  its  images,  is  itself  a  part  of  the  moun- 
tain. The  ceiling  of  the  great  hall  was  once  cov- 
ered with  cement,  on  which  were  drawn,  in  glowing 
colors,  paintings  descriptive  of  Hindu  mythology. 


96  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

"  Near  this  are  other  excavations.  Some  of  these 
are  very  large  and  contain  images  of  gigantic  size. 
In  one  place  are  three  large  excavations,  one  above 
the  other.  Of  these  the  lowest  one  was  designed 
to  represent  the  Hindu  hell,  or  lower  world,  the 
middle  one  this  world,  and  the  upper  one  the  Hin- 
du paradise.  In  these  excavations  the  images  were 
painted  to  make  their  appearance  more  beautiful  or 
frightful,  as  the  characters  represented  might  re- 
quire. The  walls,  pillars,  and  ceilings,  where  not 
taken  up  with  images,  were  covered  with  paintings. 
Curtains  which  could  be  changed  at  pleasure  were 
used  to  conceal  different  parts  of  the  temples  from 
view.  In  these  gloomy  recesses,  surrounded  with 
figures  of  gigantic  size  and  frightful  appearance, 
one  seems  almost  to  realize  the  descriptions  of  the 
infernal  regions  in  ancient  heathen  poets.  Here  the 
rites  and  ceremonies  of  idolatry,  partly  exhibited 
and  partly  concealed,  were  performed  in  circum- 
stances calculated  powerfully  to  excite  the  feelings 
of  a  superstitious  people."    • 

There  is  no  authentic  history  of  these  excavations, 
nor  do  any  native  traditions  concerning  them  appear 
to  be  deserving  of  much  credit.  All  agree  that  they 
antedate  the  entrance  of  the  Mohammedan  power 
into  the  country.1 

1  Missionary  Herald  for  1 835,  pp.  459,  460. 


CHAPTER  V. 

MISSION   TO   THE   MAHRATTAS. 

1835-1847. 

Mr.  Allen  made  many  missionary  tours  in  the 
years  1833-1836.1     He  was  again  at  Jalna,  Temporary 

station  at 

in  the  last  of  these  years,  and  induced  the  Jataa- 
native  Christians  to  form  a  Christian  society.     This 
they  did  by  adopting  some  regulations  prepared  by 
him  in  view  of  their  peculiar  circumstances. 

After  this  he  resumed  his  residence  at  Bombay, 
where  he  had  the  care  of  the  printing-  establish- 
ment, and  was  also  a  member  of  the  committee  of 
the  Bible  Society.  At  the  close  of  the  year  Messrs. 
Stone  and  Munger  visited  Jalna  to  ascertain  whether 
a  station  could  be  formed  there,  and  appearances 
were  so  favorable  that  they  remained  there  during 
1837.  The  Nizam,  though  a  Mussulman,  made  no 
objection.  The  English  residents  had  built  a  new 
house  of  worship,  and  gave  them  the  use  of  the  old 
one,  but  it  was  not  found  expedient  to  continue  the 
station  more  than  a  year  or  two. 

1  For  his  journals  Bee  Missionary  Herald  for  1835,  pp.185,  211,  455; 
1836,  pp.  01,  298,  321  ;   1837,  pp.  106,  206,  233,  332. 
7 


98  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

This  was  a  time  noted  for  commercial  disaster. 
seasonable  Upon  receiving  a  circular  from  the  Pru- 
uberaiity.  t]ential  Committee  requiring  reductions  in 
the  expenditure,  ten  boarding  pupils  at  Ahmednug- 
gur  were  dismissed,  and  six  village  schools  were 
closed.  The  necessity  of  further  reduction  was  pre- 
vented by  the  liberality  of  European  residents.  At 
Bombay  the  reductions  were  arrested  in  a  similar 
manner.  Miss  Graves  had  charge  of  the  female 
schools  there.  The  printing  from  the  beginning 
had  amounted  to  21,809,850  pages,  the  American 
and  Bombay  Bible  Societies,  the  American  Tract 
Society,  and  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  sharing 
in  the  expense. 

Early  in  1839  two  brahmins,  named  Narayan  and 
Baptism  of     Haripunt,  were  baptized  at  Ahmednuggur. 

two  brah- 
mins. They  were  brothers,  and  the  younger  was 

the  first  to  come  to  an  open  decision.  The  brah- 
min community  was  greatly  excited,  and  declared 
that  intercourse  with  the  missionaries  should  subject 
any  one  of  their  fraternity  to' a  loss  of  caste.  Three 
of  the  schools  of  brahmin  children  were  broken 
up.  Both  of  the  young  men  were  deprived  of  their 
wives,  but  the  wife  of  the  younger  brother  returned 
to  her  husband  before  his  baptism,  and  soon  followed 
his  example.  Haripunt's  connection  with  the  mis- 
sion, as  teacher,  catechist,  licensed  preacher,  and 
pastor,  continued  till  his  death,  twenty-five  years. 
He   had   strength  of  character,  was   always   ready 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAIIRATTAS.  99 

to  do  battle  for  the  truth,  and  we  shall  have  occa- 
sion to  speak  of  him  again.  Narayan  died  in  the 
year  1871.  He  was  unemployed  by  the  mission  for 
many  years,  was  bent  on  acquiring-  property,  and 
was,  for  a  time,  under  the  discipline  of  the  church. 
During-  his  last  sickness  he  gave  pleasing-  evidence 
of  penitence,  and  seemed  to  be  a  truly  changed 
man. 

Messrs.  Ebenezer  Burgess,  Ozro  French,  and  Rob- 
ert W.  Hume,  with  their  wives,  were  added  w      .  . 

New  mission- 

to  the  mission   in   this  year.     Mr.  Hume  anes' 
was  stationed  at  Bombay,  and  Mr.  Burgess  at  Ah- 
mednugg'ur.    Mr.  French  formed  a  station  at  Seroor, 
thirty  miles  from  that  city. 

The  first  distinct  mention  I  find  of  the  Mahars  is 
in  1816,  in  the  journal  of  Messrs.  Hall  and 

.  The  Mahars. 

Newell.  Those  living  in  Bombay  were  then 
described  as  the  most  degraded  and  vicious  class  of 
Hindus,  yet  as  forming  a  distinct  caste,  with  rules 
and  customs  to  which  they  attached  much  impor- 
tance. The  meanest  of  them,  write  the  mission- 
aries, would  not  eat  with  us,  through  dread  of  pol- 
lution and  the  loss  of  caste.  In  the  Deccan  they 
were  more  respectable,  though  low  in  the  social 
scale.  Many  supposed  them  to  be  descendants  of 
the  original  inhabitants.  As  with  the  hill-tribes, 
who  are  confessedly  aborigines,  the  obstacles  to  their 
becoming  Christians  are  far  less  than  among  the 
higher  castes.     Twenty  years  later  the  brethren  at 


100  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

Ahmednuggur  wrote  thus  concerning'  them.  "  Be- 
sides the  brahmins,  there  is  no  class  of  Hindus 
which  affords  so  many  religious  teachers,  or  gurus, 
in  this  region,  as  the  mahars.  There  are  some 
noted  gurus  in  this  vicinity  who  boast  of  thou- 
sands of  disciples,  while  among  the  higher  castes, 
until  you  come  to  the  brahmins,  you  seldom  find  a 
guru.  Many  of  the  mahar  gurus  are  op- 
rQa'  posers  of  idolatry,  discard  the  Hindu  sys- 

tem of  incarnations,  and  maintain  the  doctrine  of 
one  invisible  God,  who  alone  is  to  be  worshipped, 
and  whose  favor  is  to  be  obtained  by  inward  medita- 
tion upon  his  character  and  perfections.  Many 
mahars,  on  hearing  us  preach,  have  exclaimed  that 
this  is  just  the  doctrine  taught  by  their  own  relig- 
ious teachers ;  and  it  is  only  when  we  tell  them  of 
the  Saviour  of  the  world,  that  they  perceive  the 
difference  between  their  system  and  ours ;  and  even 
this  does  not  excite  in  them  that  opposition,  which 
it  does  in  preaching  to  other  classes  of  Hindus." 

Seventeen  natives  were  added  to  the  Ahmednug- 
Additions  to    £ur  church  in  1842,  twelve  in  the  follow- 

tUe  church.       j^     y&^     ^     gixteen     jn     18U,        A     large 

portion  of  these  were  mahars.  And  it  is  worthy  of 
note,  that  nine  in  the  number  last  mentioned  pos- 
sessed property  which  made  them  independent  of 
employment  or  assistance  from  the  mission.  Of 
twenty-two  admitted  in  1845,  thirteen  were  men, 
and   nine  were  women.     Of  the   former  seven  be- 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  101 

longed  to  villages  from  fifteen  to  forty  miles  distant, 
and  most  of  them,  though  mahars,  were  substan- 
tial men  of  respectable  character.  Of  the  twenty- 
four  who  were  admitted  in  1846,  eighteen  resided 
in  different  villages,  some  of  them  considerably  dis- 
tant from  Ahmednnggnr,  and  all  supported  them- 
selves.    It  should   be  further  stated,  that  social  posi- 

tion  of  the 

the  mahars  then  formed  a  part  of  the  om-  mahars. 
cial  corps  of  every  village.  They  kept  the  gates, 
were  guides  to  travellers,  conveyed  burdens  from 
village  to  villag-e,  and  letters  on  public  business,  and 
formed  a  village  police  to  guard  persons  and  prop- 
erty against  the  attacks  of  robbers.  In  return, 
they  were  entitled  to  a  certain  portion  of  the  pro- 
ceeds of  every  estate  belonging  to  their  village,  and 
had  other  perquisites.  In  consequence  of  their 
more  extended  intercourse  with  men,  they  are  supe- 
rior to  the  kimabees,  or  cultivator  caste,  in  general 
intelligence,  though  much  lower  on  the  social  scale. 
A  spirit  of  religious  inquiry  was  evidently  awaken- 
ing among  them,  and  the  missionaries  in  their 
tours  had  frequent  opportunities  for  public  discus- 
sions, of  which  they  give  very  pleasing  accounts. 
The  most  promising  district,  at  that  time,  was  the 
one  north  of  Ahmednuggur.  A  mahar  guru  of 
considerable  influence  was  among  the  native  assist- 
ants.1 

Mrs.  Allen,  the  sister  of  Mr.  Graves,  died  at  Boui- 

1  Missionary  Herald  for  July,  1S43,  pp.  265-275. 


102  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

bay  June  5,  1842,  "faithful  unto  death,"  and  on  the 
n  .,     .       24th  of  the  same  month  Mrs.  Burgess  died 

Deaths  of  O 

lud  Mrs.en  a*  Ahmednuggur.  She  had  been  a  success- 
ful teacher  before  her  marriage,  and  exerted 
an  excellent  influence  on  the  missionary  schools. 
Death  of  Mr  ^r-  Graves  finished  his  course  at  Malcolm- 
Graves.  peth  December  30th  of  the  following  year. 
His  missionary  life  of  twenty-five  years  was  one  of 
uncommon  sing-leness  of  purpose,  and  his  end  was 
peace.  Just  before  his  departure  he  said  :  "  I  cove- 
nanted with  God,  through  Christ,  long,  long  ago,  to 
be  his  for  time  aud  eternity.  Now  I  commit  my  all 
into  his  hands.  Christ  is  all,  all.  The  fear  of 
death  is  gone."  Mention  has  already  been  made  of 
his  request,  when  told  by  his  physician  in  Boston 
that  he  would  not  recover,  to  return  and  die  in 
India.  Such  men  have  no  reason  to  fear  death  any- 
where. 

The  year  1842  was  made  memorable  by  the  re- 
increased  moval  of  one  of  the  barriers  in  the  way  of 
toleration,  christian  toleration.  The  baptism  of  three 
girls  in  the  boarding-school  had  been  deferred  on 
account  of  the  opposition  of  their  parents.  At 
length  the  girls,  fearing  they  would  be  taken  from 
the  school,  urged  that  their  baptism  should  be  no 
longer  deferred,  and  the  missionaries,  seeing  no 
good  reason  for  longer  delay,  received  them  to  the 
church.  Of  course  there  was  much  excitement. 
The  friends  of  one  of  the  girls  petitioned  the  gov- 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  103 

eminent,  and  the  case  was  investigated.  As  it  ap- 
peared that  she  had  embraced  the  Christian  religion 
of  her  own  free  will,  they  were  told  that  she  was  at 
liberty  to  do  as  she  pleased.  Thus  the  rights  of 
conscience  were  secured  to  girls,  even  at  the  age  of 
twelve  years. 

These  girls  belonged  to  the  cultivator  caste,  which 
was  numerous  at  Ahmednuggur  and  had  social  posi- 
tion, and  this  was  the  first  case  of  conversion  among 
them.  They  went  in  a  body  to  the  chief  revenue 
officer  of  the  district,  and  declared  they  would  throw 
up  their  engagements  with  government  and  remove 
elsewhere,  if  the  girls  were  not  surrendered  to  them. 
The  reply  was,  that  the  government  would  find  other 
men  to  cultivate  their  grounds,  but  even  if  it  could 
not,  he  would  not  be  guilty  of  injustice.  This  firm- 
ness brought  the  disturbance  to  an  end,  yet  the 
girls'  schools  were  for  a  time  considerably  affected. 

Of  those  who  had  most  recently  joined  the  church, 
one  was  a  brahmin  named  Ramkrishnapunt,  conversion 
who  proved  a  most  valuable  accession.  He  napunt. 
came  from  Poona,  from  a  respectable  family,  and 
was  employed  as  a  schoolmaster.  His  manner  was 
at  first  haughty  and  unpromising.  He  had  been  led 
to  think  of  the  folly  of  idol-worship  by  a  heretical 
Hindu,  a  follower  of  the  system  of  Kubeer,  who 
taught  that  all  the  incantations  and  idols  of  Hin- 
duism were  false,  and  that  God  alone  should  be 
worshipped.     Comparing  what  he  had  thus  learned 


104  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

with  what  he  found  in  the  Christian  school-books 
which  he  was  daily  using  in  his  school,  he  was 
astonished  at  the  agreement.  While  in  this  state 
of  mind  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Marutee,  a 
young  man  of  the  cultivator  caste,  who  was  also  an 
inquirer  after  the  truth.  Ramkrishnapunt  was  the 
first  to  resolve  fully.  In  order  to  obtain  his  wife 
before  being  baptized,  he  went  to  Poona,  where  his 
friends,  learning  his  intention,  put  him  under  re- 
straint, but  the  magistrate  set  him  at  liberty,  and 
gave  him  a  soldier  to  protect  him  a  part  of  the  way 
to  Ahmednuggur,  where  he  lost  no  time  in  connect- 
ing himself  with  the  church.  The  communicants 
at  that  time  were  thirty-eight,  of  whom  twenty-five 
were  natives.  Every  one  of  the  eight  last  intro- 
duced came  from  a  different  social  circle,  and  so 
could  exert  an  influence  over  a  different  class  of 
persons.  Marutee  was  long-  associated  with  Mr. 
Fairbank,  and  became  afterwards  a  teacher  in  the 
Normal  school  at  Ahmednuggur.  Of  Ramkrishna- 
punt we  shall  have  frequent  occasion  to  speak. 

The  case  of  Vishnu,  a  younger  brother  of  Ram- 
caseof  krishnapunt,  though  painful  in  its  issue, 
vishnQ.  affords  an  interesting  specimen  of  brahmin 
domestic  life.  He  seems  to  have  sympathized  with 
his  brother,  and  renounced  caste,  professing  his  be- 
lief in  Christianity.  His  father  and  mother,  hear- 
ing of  this,  came  to  Ahmednuggur,  and  used  their 
utmost  endeavors  to  reclaim  their  children.      The 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  105 

father,  though  greatly  agitated,  conducted  with  pro- 
priety ;  but  the  mother  was  frantic,  and  was  at  one 
time  prevented  from  dashing  her  head  against  a 
rock  only  by  being  caught  in  the  arms  of  her  son. 
A  company  of  brahmins  endeavored  to  take  the  boy 
Vishnu  away  by  force,  but  the  native  students  in 
the  seminary  interposed.  The  magistrate  was  then 
called  in,  and  finding  it  was  the  lad's  decided  wish 
to  remain,  ordered  that  he  have  liberty  to  do  as  he 
pleased.  An  older  brother,  a  lawyer  at  Poona,  peti- 
tioned the  civil  magistrate,  alleging  that  Vishnu 
was  yet  a  minor,  under  sixteen  years  of  age.  The 
youth  sent  in  a  counter  petition,  stating  that  though 
not  sixteen,  he  was  old  enough  to  know  that  the 
Hindu  religion  was  false,  and  therefore  he  claimed 
the  liberty  of  worshipping  God  according  to  the  dic- 
tates of  his  conscience ;  which  was  granted.  I  re- 
gret to  add  that  his  life  was  not  always  such  as  to 
justify  the  expectations  awakened  by  his  early  his- 
tory. 

The  Missionary  Herald  for  1843  contains  inter- 
esting accounts  of  labors  among  the  mahars  north- 
ward of  Ahmednuggur,  chiefly  from  the  journal  of 
Mr.  Ballantine. 

The  seminary  and  English  school  at  Ahmednug- 
gur were  united  in  1844,  and  placed  in  charge  of 
Mr.  Burgess,  and  Mr.  Abbott  was  thus  left  more  at 
liberty  to  engage  in  other  kinds  of  labor.  There 
were  about  fifty  pupils.     In  this  year,  a  inahar  guru 


106  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

of  the  system  of  Eubeer,  who  had  for  some  time 
Amahar  been  in  training1,  was  baptized  and  admit- 
vert.  ted  to  the  church.     He  was  a  man  of  con- 

siderable influence  among  the  mahars,  and  was  clear 
and  forcible  in  his  addresses  to  the  people  on  the 
great  doctrine  of  the  necessity  of  a  Mediator.  Mrs. 
Allen,  wife  of  Mr.  Allen,  died  at  Bombay  June  11, 
1844.  She  had  been  connected  with  the  mission 
of  the  Board  in  Borneo  as  Miss  Condit,  and  had 
been  at  Bombay  only  a  few  months. 

There  is  a  lower  depth  in  caste  than  the  mahar. 
conversion  In  the  summer  of  1845,  Mr.  French  had 
caste.  '  the  satisfaction,  at  Seroor,  of  baptizing  a 
man  of  the  mang  caste  named  Bhagaji  Kalokhe. 
Hitherto  the  great  portion  of  the  converts  were 
from  the  mahar  caste,  which  was  so  near  the  bottom 
of  the  Hindu  social  scale,  that  the  mahars  lost  no 
privileges  among  their  own  people  by  becoming 
Christians,  having  found  in  the  Christian  church 
only  those  who  were  originally  above  them.  But 
they  had  inveterate  prejudices  against  the  mangs, 
regarding  them  as  hereditary  beggars  and  thieves. 
Among  the  mangs,  however,  who  called  on  Mr. 
French,  he  found  many  very  intelligent  men.  Bha- 
gaji proved  himself  to  be  higher  and  more  noble  in 
character  and  conduct  than  many  who  ranked  them- 
selves above  him.  He  was  among  the  most  sincere 
of  the  native  Christians,  and  was  specially  distin- 
guished for  love  to  his  mother,  making  her  a  part 


M/SSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  107 

of  his  family,  and  bestowing  upon  her,  till  her 
death  at  an  advanced  age,  all  the  attention  which 
her  circumstances  required.  The  custom  of  his  c;iste 
was  to  live  very  much  by  begging-,  but  this  did  not 
suit  him.  He  used  to  say  that  it  was  well  for  a  man 
to  obtain  his  food  by  his  own  labor,  and  then  eat 
like  a  king.  On  this  account  he  was  treated  with 
unusual  regard,  even  by  his  own  caste.  It  was  no 
part  of  his  motive  in  becoming  a  Christian,  to  get  a 
living.  For  almost  nineteen  years,  until  his  death 
in  1864,  he  lived  the  life  of  a  consistent  Christian, 
being  exemplary  in  all  his  relations.  During  the 
last  ten  years  he  was  deacon  of  the  church.  Twice 
a  day  he  had  his  family  devotions,  and  twice  a  day 
he  retired  for  secret  prayer. 

Much  pains  had  been  taken,  before  the  public  rec- 
ognition of  Bhagaji  as  a  Christian,  to  in-  Singularill. 
struct  the  church,  not  only  at  Seroor,  but  tolerance- 
also  at  Ahmednuggur,  as  to  what  was  due  to  the 
castes  below  them.  Nor  was  it  wholly  in  vain  ;  for 
when  the  mang  brother  came  to  Ahmednuggur,  the 
greater  part  of  the  church  members,  including  all 
the  native  assistants,  received  him  to  their  houses, 
and  entertained  him  to  the  best  of  their  ability, 
showing  that  they  regarded  him  as  a  brother.  But 
a  violent  outbreak  of  the  caste  feeling  occurred  a 
few  days  after  he  left.  One  young  church  member 
forcibly  turned  another  out  of  his  house  merely  be- 
cause the  latter  had  invited  the  mang  convert  to 


108  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

dinner.  He  also  warned  others,  whose  only  fault 
was  having"  dined  with  that  Christian  brother,  not  to 
enter  his  house ;  and  he  was  supported  in  this  by 
s  ,  ,      ,.     one  or  two  other  members  of  the  church. 

Salutary  dis- 
cipline. Persisting-  in  this  course,  he  was  suspended 

from  the  church.  Others,  not  so  bold,  professed  a 
willingness  to  do  whatever  the  church  should  de- 
cide,  and  urged  that  the  members  should  be  assem- 
bled from  the  city  and  the  villages,  and  determine 
by  their  votes  what  course  to  pursue.  They  were 
told  that  this  was  not  a  matter  to  be  determined  in 
that  way,  because  the  Lord  required  his  people  all 
to  meet  arouud  his  table  as  brethren.  Meanwhile 
the  communion  season  approached,  and  one  or  two 
of  the  communicants  took  occasion  to  leave  Ahmed- 
nugg-ur  a  few  days  before.  Some  who  had  opposed 
remained  and  partook  of  the  ordinance,  having  pre- 
viously declared  to  the  pastor  that  they  would  have 
no  objection  to  communing  with  the  mang  con- 
vert. The  young  man  was  also  present,  though  of 
course  only  as  a  spectator,  and  was  deeply  troubled, 
feeling  that  he  had  shut  himself  out  from  the 
company  of  God's  people.  The  next  day  he  came 
to  the  pastor  and  confessed  his  sin  with  the  deepest 
humility ;  and  afterwards,  in  a  church  meeting,  he 
rose  of  his  own  accord,  and  gave  such  satisfactory 
evidence  of  repentance,  that  he  was  restored  to  the 
fellowship  of  the  church.  The  trial  had  been  use- 
ful to  him. 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  109 

Mr.  Munger,  returning  from  a  visit  to  his  native 
land,  was  afflicted  on  the  way  by  the  death  Death  of 

Mrs.  Muu- 

of  his  wife  on  the  12th  of  March,  1846,  *«. 
and  she  was  buried  in  the  Indian  Ocean.     Messrs. 
Samuel  B.  Fairbank  and  Royal  G.  Wilder,  Newmi8. 
with  their  wives,  arrived  in  India  in  Sep-  sioaaries- 
teraber  of  that  year,  and  were  stationed  at  Ahmed- 
nng-grur.     Mr.  Allen  Hazen  and  wife   arrived  there 
in  the  following  March.     The  station    at    Bombay 
was  strengthened,  in  January,  1848,  by  the  arrival 
of  Messrs.  George  Bowen  and  William  Wood  and 
wife.      Mr.   French,  after   suffering  much  Return 

home  of  Mr. 

from   the  failure  of  his  eyes,  returned  to  French. 
the  United  States,  with  his  family,  in  July,  1847, 
and  was  not  long  after  released  from  his  connection 
with  the  Board. 

The  letters  of  Mr.  Hume  from  Bombay  contain  a 
great  amount  of  valuable  information,  for  Natlveniag. 
much  of  which  the  reader  is  referred  to  a21De" 
the  Missionary  Herald.  A  native  magazine,  called 
"  The  Dnyauodaya,"  or  "  Rise  of  Knowledge,"  was 
issued  by  the  mission,  and  was  regarded  with  inter- 
est both  by  friends  and  enemies.  It  had  a  consider- 
able number  of  native  subscribers,  who,  besides  get- 
ting much  useful  information,  took  an  interest  in 
the  discussions  of  religious  subjects. 

The  year  1847  was  distinguished  by  the  issue,  on 
the  first  of  March,  of  the  entire  Scriptures   publication 

of  the  Bible 

in  the  Mahratta  lang-uarre.    Thus  the  whole  »>  Mahratta. 


110  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

volume  of  inspiration  became  accessible  to  a  numer- 
ous people  in  Western  India.  The  New  Testament 
was  translated  from  the  original  Greek  by  the  mis- 
sion before  the  death  of  Mr.  Hall.  The  Old  Testa- 
ment was  also  translated  by  American  missionaries 
as  far  as  2d  Chronicles,  and  also  the  book  of  Psalms. 
The  version  of  the  remaining  books  was  made  by 
the  Rev.  J.  B.  Dixon,  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  who  also  published  a  version  of  the  Psalms. 

The  Bombay  Bible  Society  appointed  a  committee 
in  1833,  to  prepare  an  improved  version.  The 
last  years  of  Mr.  Graves'  life  were  devoted  to  this 
work ;  aud  this  was  the  chief  employment  of  Dr. 
Allen  during  the  latter  part  of  his  residence  in 
India. 

The  Gospel  of  Matthew  was  first  printed  in  1817, 
and  several  of  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts  were  after- 
wards printed  repeatedly.  The  New  Testament  was 
published  entire  in  1826.  In  1830  a  second  edition 
of  five  thousand  copies  was  issued,  at  the  expense  of 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  The  types 
were  large,  and  the  cost  of  the  edition  was  propor- 
tionally so.  The  size  of  the  letter  was  afterwards 
reduced,  and  of  course  the  cost  of  the  volume.  The 
printing  of  the  entire  Bible  in  one  volume,  was  com- 
pleted in  1855.  The  newly  revised  edition  of  the 
New  Testament  was  completed  in  the  same  year; 
and  this  all  the  missions  in  the  Mahratta  country 
united  in  using.    Nearly  the  whole  printing  of  the 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  Ill 

sacred  volume  was  clone  at  the  press  of  the  Ameri- 
can mission. 

The  printing-  establishment  of  the  Board  at  Bom- 
bay was  one  of  the  most  complete  in  West-  The  printing 

establisli- 

ern  India.  It  included  a  bindery  and  foun-  mciit 
dry,  seven  hand  printing-presses,  a  lithographic 
press,  an  embossing-  press,  two  standing  presses, 
two  cutting  machines,  seven  furnaces,  moulds  and 
matrices  for  three  fonts  of  English  type,  for  seven 
Mahratta  fonts  of  the  Baldodh,  for  a  Mahratta 
font  of  the  Modh  character,  for  three  Gajeratee 
fonts,  and  for  one  Zand  font.  It  employed  more 
than  a  hundred  workmen,  and  had  cleared  by  its  job 
printing  93,000  rupees,  or  946,500.  There  Itsreduc. 
was  no  longer  a  need  of  the  Board's  main-  tlou' 
taining  so  large  a  printing  establishment  in  that 
part  of  India.  Nor  was  it  expedient  to  do  so 
for  the  sake  of  pecuniary  profit,  when  the  depart- 
ment, which  was  the  source  of  gain,  had  an  absorb- 
ing influence  on  the  time  of  a  clerical  missionary 
superintendent.  The  portion  required  for  English 
job  printing  was  therefore  sold  in  1855.  Three 
years  later,  it  appeared  that  other  presses  in  Bom- 
bay could  do  all  the  work  needed  by  the  mission,  and 
the  printing  establishment  was  sold  ;  it  being  the 
usage  of  the  Board  not  to  be  encumbered  with 
such  establishments,  except  where  they  are  a  neces- 
sity. 

According  to  Mr.  Hume,  there  were  fifteen  peri- 


112  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

odicals  printed  at  Bombay  in   1847,  for  the  native 
,  -    population,  most  of  them  published  weekly. 

Increased  ef-     l      L  L  ' 

tbe'nativl  He  also  says  '•  "  Without  enumerating- 
press  either    the    European    printing  establish- 

ments, or  the  native  offices  in  which  type  is  em- 
ployed, there  are  some  forty-five  or  fifty  lithographic 
presses  engaged  in  printing  native  works,  which 
obtain  considerable  circulation,  and  which  must 
exert  a  very  extensive  influence."  Special  exertion 
was  now  made  to  put  books  and  tracts  iu  circula- 
tion by  sale,  rather  than  by  gratuitous  distribution. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MISSION   TO    THE    MAHRATTAS. 

1847-1854. 

The  difficulty  of  personal  access  to  the  people  in 
the  early  stages  of  the  mission,  and  so  making  con- 
verts, naturally  suggested  a  resort  to  board-  Results  of 

boaiding- 

ing-schools,  and  seventeen  of  the  forty-one  schools. 
natives  received  into  the  Bombay  church  were  from 
the  schools  of  this  kind  for  girls.  Such  schools 
were  also  deemed  needful  to  raise  up  Christian 
schoolmasters,  catechists,  preachers  and  pastors ; 
and  for  common  schools  there  was  an  additional 
reason  in  the  belief,  that  they  would  greatly  aid  in 
securing  stated  congregations.  In  1851,  Bombay 
reported  eighty  girls  and  three  hundred  boys  in  the 
free  schools,  and  twenty-six  in  the  girls'  boarding- 
school.  Satara  reported  two  hundred  boys  in  the 
free  schools.  Ahmednug'gur  reported  forty  in  the 
seminary,  twenty- three  in  the  boarding-school  for 
boys,  thirty-seven  in  the  one  for  girls,  and  six 
hundred  in  the  free  schools,  eighty  of  them  girls 
under  the  care  of  Miss  Farrar.  Seroor  reported 
eighteen  in  the  boys'  boarding-school,  fourteen   in 


114  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

that  for  girls,  and  one  hundred  and  twelve  in  the 
free  schools,  and  there  were  ninety-five  in  free 
schools  at  the  out-stations.  Thus  there  were,  in 
all,  eighty-one  boys  and  seventy-seven  girls  in  the 
boarding-schools,  and  thirteen  hundred  eighty-seven 
pupils  in  the  free  schools. 

On  no  part  of  the  missionary  operations  in  Bom- 
bay did  the  blessing  of  God  seem  to  rest  so  much  as 
upon  Mrs.  Hume's  boarding-school  for  girls.  It 
was  discontinued  in  1854  in  consequence  of  her  re- 
turn to  the  United  States,  there  being  no  one  to 
assume  the  care  of  it.  A  part  of  the  pupils  were 
taken  by  Mrs.  Mitchell,  of  the  Scotch  Free  Church 
mission  at  Poona.  Eleven  had  been  received  from 
Mrs.  Hume's  school  into  the  church  during  ten 
years,  and  several  were  in  stations  of  usefulness. 

The  condition  of  the  schools  in  the  Ahmednuggur 
branch  was  less  satisfactory.  The  Christian  parents 
had  somehow  come  to  entertain  the  notion,  that  their 
children  were  all  entitled  to  be  educated  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  mission,  and  the  boarding  pupils  were 
nearly  all  their  children,  and  only  two  were  con- 
nected with  the  church.  In  reorganizing  this 
branch  of  the  mission,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to 
discontinue  the  boarding-schools  as  then  constituted, 
and  all  the  free  schools  which  had  heathen  masters. 

The  church  at  Ahmednuggur,  previous  to  1855, 
was  made  up  chiefly  of  converts  from  vil- 

The  mission  L  •> 

compound.     jages  jjj   the   surrounding   country,   some 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAIIRATTAS.  115 

thirty  or  forty  miles  distant,  and  there  was  a  ten- 
dency, especially  among1  the  mahar  converts,  to 
migrate  from  their  villages  with  their  families,  and 
occupy  cottages  in  the  compounds  around  the  houses 
of  the  missionaries,  where  their  children  had  free 
access  to  the  mission  schools.  Not  less  than  two 
hundred,  old  and  young,  from  one  cause  or  another, 
were  found  to  be  residing  on  the  mission  compounds 
at  Ahmednuggur  in  the  year  1854. 

The  only  effectual  means  of  keeping  the  village 
converts  at  their  homes,  was  to  establish  village 
churches,  with  pastors  of  their  own  race,  wherever 
there  was  a  suitable  number  of  natives  belonging  to 
one  village,  or  to  several  adjacent  villages,  in  cir- 
cumstances to  meet  regularly  for  religious  worship 
on  the  Sabbath,  and  to  perform  the  duties  of  a 
church  of  Christ;  the  native  pastors  of  these 
churches  to  be  responsible,  with  the  church  mem- 
bers, for  the  government  and  discipline  of  the 
church. 

In  March,  1848,  Haripunt  and  Ramkrishnapunt 
were  licensed  as  preachers  of  the  gospel,  LicpnsPd 
and  the  latter  was  stationed  at  Newase,  Pr,achers- 
lately  opened  by  Mr.  Wilder.  At  Pimpalgaum,  a 
small  village  ten  miles  from  this  place,  Mr.  Wilder 
baptized  Yesuba  with  his  four  children.  Aninterest. 
Yesiiba  was  a  man  of  considerable  property  ,nsconvert- 
and  unusual  energy.  He  had  carried  on  a  profitable 
trade   in  cattle  for  many  years,  and,  though   con- 


116  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

vinced  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  had  resisted  the 
conviction  that  he  ought  not  to  frequent  the  cattle- 
market,  held  on  the  Sabbath  in  the  vicinity  of  Ah- 
mednuggur.  Being  at  length  resolved,  he  returned 
home,  and  was  baptized.  He  became  an  interesting 
Christian,  and  remained  such,  though  greatly  per- 
secuted by  his  heathen  neighbors. 

As  the  health  of  Mrs.  Wood  required  a  removal 
from  Bombay  to  the  Deccan,  Mr.  Wood 

New  station  J 

atsatara.  wag  auth0rized  to  form  a  station  at  Sa- 
tara,  the  capital  of  what  was  formerly  the  king- 
dom of  that  name.  The  city  is  fifty  miles  from  the 
western  coast,  and  more  than  two  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea,  with  a  position  singularly  beautiful. 

Hitherto,  in  Western  and  Southern  India  (and  in 
The  law  Bengal  up  to  1832),  there  had  been  no  spe- 
wed, cial  law  for  the  protection  of  Christian  con- 
verts. Hindu  law  being  applied  to  Hindus  and 
Mohammedan  law  to  Mohammedans,  converts  from 
those  classes  were  still  considered  as  liable  to  be 
tried  by  the  same  laws  to  which  they  had  been 
amenable  before  conversion,  laws  which  pronounced 
them  outcasts,  and  deprived  them,  as  such,  of  all 
right  to  their  property.  Many  were  thus  subjected 
to  great  losses.  No  court  in  India  would  put  them 
in  possession  of  any  property  to  which  any  other 
heir  laid  claim.  This  state  of  things  was  extrenely 
trying,  and  various  eiforts  had  been  made  by  Chris- 
tians in  India  to  obtain  legislation  that  would  secure 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  117 

thorn  equal  rights.  At  length,  in  1850,  the  follow- 
ing* Act  was  passed  by  the  Governor-general  in  coun- 
cil :  "  So  much  of  any  law  or  usage  now  in  force, 
within  the  territories  subject  to  the  government  of 
the  East  India  Company,  as  inflicts  on  any  person 
forfeiture  of  rights  or  property,  or  may  be  held  in 
any  way  to  impair  or  affect  any  right  of  inheritance, 
by  reason  of  his  or  her  renouncing,  or  having  been 
excluded  from,  the  communion  of  any  religion,  or 
being  deprived  of  caste,  shall  cease  to  be  enforced 
as  law  in  the  courts  of  the  East  India  Company, 
and  in  the  courts  established  by  royal  charter  within 
the  said  territories." 

This  enactment  was  received  with  gratitude  by  all 
who  were  interested  in  securing  the  extension  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ. 

The  seminary  for  boys  at  Ahmednuggur,  in  con- 
sequence of  Mr.  Burgess's  ill  health  in  the  Chan  esin 
fall  of  1849,  was  placed  under  the  charge  themi8Sion- 
of  Mr.  Wilder.  The  girls'  boarding-school,  because 
of  a  visit  of  Mr.  Ballantine  and  his  family  to  the 
United  States,  passed,  about  the  same  time,  into  the 
hands  of  Mrs.  Burgess.  Mr.  Fairbank  removed  to 
Bombay  in  the  hope  of  improving  the  health  of  his 
wife.  Mr.  French  suffered  for  many  months  from 
the  failure  of  his  eyes,  and  tried  in  vain  the  influ- 
ence of  a  protracted  visit  to  his  native  land.  Appre- 
hending the  effect  of  a  return  to  India,  he  felt 
constrained,   in    1851,  to   take  a   release   from    his 


118  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

connection  with  the  Board.  The  Rev.  Samuel  Bis- 
sell  and  wife  arrived  this  year,  and  were  stationed 
at  Seroor.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burgess  removed  to  8a- 
tara  at  the  close  of  the  year,  and  Mr.  Hazen  to 
Ahmednuggur,  where  he  was  associated  with  Mr. 
Ballantine,  who  returned  from  the  United  States 
in  1852.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilder  commenced  a  uew 
station  at  Kolapur,  an  eligible  situation  seventy 
miles  south  of  Satara.  Mr.  Munger  remained  at 
Bhingar,  near  Ahmednuggur.  The  most  hopeful 
part  of  the  field,  at  that  time,  was  doubtless  north- 
ward of  Ahmednuggur,  where  the  missionary  usually 
found  large  and  attentive  audiences  in  the  villages, 
whom  he  could  address  as  long  as  he  thought  proper. 
There  was  consequently  much  touring-  in  the  cool 
season,  though  wisely  restricted,  in  great  measure, 
to  portions  of  the  country  which  had  often  been 
visited. 

Mr.  Burgess  about  this  time   developed  an  idea 
Lesson  in       which  had  not  been  sufficiently  considered 

mission  pol-  .  ..  . 

icy  by  the  Board,  or  its  missionaries.     It  was, 

that  every  missionary  should  have,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, a  separate  and  distinct  department  of  labor; 
and  that,  even  in  large  cities,  it  might  not  be  possi- 
ble, for  a  time,  to  secure  regular  preaching  stations 
for  more  than  a  very  few.  The  most  united,  most 
happy,  and  most  efficient  missions  were  generally 
where  every  man  had  his  own  appropriate  sphere  of 
labor. 


.MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  119 

The  health  of  Dr.  Allen  had  been  good  during 
most  of  his  five-and-twenty  years  in  India,   Retirement 

i      x.  •     j  •       J.-  p  1  .,.  ar>d  death  of 

Dut  indications  or  a  change  in  his  consti-  Dr.  Alien, 
tution  now  appeared,  that  threatened  serious  re- 
sults; and  he  was  advised  by  his  physicians  and  by 
the  Prudential  Committee,  to  return  home  for  a 
time.  This  he  did  in  1853,  and  was  never  able  to 
resume  his  missionary  labors.  He  died  at  Low- 
ell, Massachusetts,  July  19,  1863,  aged  sixty-three 
years. 

Dr.  Allen    possessed   a   strong   mind   and    sound 
judgment,  and  there  were  great  industry  and  thor- 
oughness in  the  use  of  his  powers.     The  work  he 
published  in  1856,  on  "  Ancient  and  Modern  India," 
a  solid  octavo  of  more  than  six  hundred  pages,  is 
creditable  to  him  in  every  respect.     He  was  familiar 
with  the  Mahratta  language,  aud  during  the  twenty 
years  of  his  connection  with  the  Translation  Com- 
mittee of  the  Bombay  Bible    Society,  one    half  of 
which   time   he  was  its  Secretary,  he   performed  a 
most  important  service  in  the  revision  of  the  Mah- 
ratta Scriptures.    The  printing  had  advanced  through 
the  second  book  of  Samuel  when   he  left  Bombay, 
and  arrangements  were  made  for  progress  in  the 
work  during  his  absence.     The   present  Mahratta 
version  of  the  Bible  owes  much  to  his  labors.     His 
associates  were  impressed  with  the  value  of  the  in- 
fluence he  exerted,  through  the  press  and  otherwise, 
on  the  general  mind  of  the  Mahratta  people. 


120  MISSIONS    TO   INDIA. 

Mrs.  Wood  died  at  Satara  on  the  13tli  of  August, 
Death  of  1851,  leaving*  two  sons.  Though  earnestly 
Mrs.  wood.  (]esjrous  of  doing  more  for  the  salvation  of 
the  people,  she  submitted  cheerfully  to  the  Divine 
And  of  Mrs.    w^'    Mrs.  Fairbank  closed  her  pilgrimage 

Fairbank.  ^  ^  gj^    Qf   Augugtj   1852#        Her    health 

gave  way  in  the  autumn  of  1846,  within  six  months 
of  landing  at  Bombay,  and  most  of  her  remain- 
ing days  she  spent  as  an  invalid ;  the  first  three 
years  in  the  Deecan,  the  rest  of  the  time  at  Bom- 
bay. After  finding  that  she  had  no  prospect  of  liv- 
ing long  in  India,  she  decided  still  to  remain  ; 
happy  in  thus  enabling  her  husband  to  continue  in 
the  missionary  work,  and  making  a  pleasant  home 
for  him ;  a  decision,  which  was  to  the  last  a 
source  of  comfort  to  her  and  her  associates.  A 
brahmin,  well  acquainted  with  Mrs.  Fairbank,  said 
with  great  earnestness,  when  looking  on  her  face 
sweet  even  in  death ;  "  The  religion  must  be  true, 
which  secures  a  death  like  this." 

Mrs.  Burgess  went  to  Satara  soon  after  the  death 
Death  of       of  Mrs.  Wood,  and   acted  the    part   of  a 

Mrs.  Bur-  ,       n  _  - 

gess.  mother  to  her  children.     But  she  too  was 

called  from  her  earthly  cares  on  the  26th  of  April, 
1853,  and  left  a  field  in  which  she  had  been  emi- 
nently useful,  for  higher  service  in  another  world. 
Peculiarly  fitted  for  her  work,  and  especially  for  the 
training  of  children ;  always  rejoicing  in  a  sense  of 
God's  love  and  favor,  and   carrying  joy   with   her 


New  station 
at  Eolapdr. 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  121 

wherever  she  went,  she  was  the  life  of  the  circle  in 
which  she  moved.  Not  only  were  the  two  families 
at  Satara  deprived  of  their  only  female  associate, 
but  the  other  families  in  the  mission  were  deeply 
afflicted  by  her  death. 

Mr.  Wilder  removed,  with  his  family,  to  Kolapur 
late  in  1852.  The  excitement  among-  the 
people,  awakened  by  his  arrival,  sensibly  " 
diminished  as  mistaken  views  and  apprehensions 
gave  place  to  a  more  correct  understanding  of  his 
character  and  object.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barker  arrived 
at  Ahmednuggur  in  1853. 

The  Government  of  India  has,  within  a  few  years, 
introduced  railways  and  the  electric  tele-  Avastsys- 
graph  on  a  large  scale.  It  will  be  con-  ways. 
venient  to  indicate  them  here,  some  fifteen  years  be- 
fore their  completion.  The  "  East  India  Railway," 
in  the  valley  of  the  Ganges  from  Calcutta  to  Delhi, 
a  distance  of  a  thousand  miles.  The  "  Great  India 
Peninsular  Railway  "  connects  with  the  one  in  the 
Ganges  valley  at  Allahabad,  about  five  hundred 
miles  above  Calcutta,  crosses  the  Deccan  plateau, 
and  descends  thence  to  the  Coucan  and  Bombay, 
and  from  Bombay  it  proceeds  to  Madras.  The 
whole  length  of  the  line  is  twelve  hundred  and 
sixty-six  miles.  The  ascent  of  the  Ghats,  on  the 
line  from  Bombay,  required  the  labor  of  seven  years, 
with  occasionally  as  many  as  forty  thousand  labor- 
ers employed  upon  it   at   one   time.      "  Beginning' 


122  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

its  ascent  along"  a  spur  thrown  out  from  the  main 
range,  this  incline  continues  its  upward  winding- 
way  through  long  tunnels  piercing  the  hardest 
basalt,  across  viaducts  spanning  ravines  of  great 
width  and  depth,  often  along  what  is  simply  a  large 
notch  cut  in  the  face  of  a  precipice."  1  The  "  Mad- 
ras Railway  "  crosses  from  Madras  to  Calicut,  a  port 
on  the  Malabar  coast,  eight  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  miles.  The  "  Bombay,  Baroda,  and  Central 
Railway  "  goes  northward  from  Bombay  to  Surat 
and  Ahmedabad,  three  hundred  miles.  The  "  Pun- 
jaub  Railway "  extends  from  Delhi  through  La- 
hore, the  capital  of  the  Punjaub,  and  thence  west- 
ward to  Mooltan  on  the  Indus  river,  five  hundred 
and  sixty  miles.  The  "  Southern  Indian  Railway  " 
is  in  progress  from  Madras,  and  will  probably  ex- 
tend through  the  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  provinces 
to  Travancore,  on  the  western  side  of  southern  In- 
dia. 

These  railways,  as  will  be  seen,  make  Bombay, 
and  not  Calcutta,  the  sea-gate  through  which  the 
postal  communications  of  India,  Europe,  and  Amer- 
ica are  to  pass.  Their  cost  cannot  have  been  less 
than  five  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  And  they 
are  as  important  in  a  missionary  point  of  view,  as  in 
their  relation  to  the  civil,  political,  and  commercial 
interests  of  India.  Under  the  orderings  of  Divine 
Providence,  they  were  built  as  really  for  the  Church, 

1  North  British  Review,  18G8,  p.  177. 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  123 

as  for  the  world,  though  designed  only  for  the  pro- 
motion of  worldly  interests.  The  saving  they  will 
make  to  the  Church,  in  the  work  of  evangelizing 
India,  will  be  immense,  in  travel,  labor,  time,  ex- 
penditure, health,  and  life.  Bombay,  and  not  Cal- 
cutta or  Madras,  will  now  be  the  great  place  of  land- 
ing and  departure  for  missionaries,  and  how  much 
more  easy,  economical,  and  safe  will  be  the  access 
to  every  section  of  the  country.1 

As  the  desire  for  education  was  increasing,  so  the 
government  was  enlarging  its  grants  in  aid  Government 

patronage  o( 

of  the  same.     They  were  made  in  1853  to  education 
the  amount  of  nearly  a  hundred  thousand  dollars, 
and  the  people  were  never  so  ready  to  contribute  for 
the  support  of  schools.     The  most  remark-  increasing 

.  -  interest  in 

able  of  the  changes  was  in  regard  to  female  schools, 
education.  The  most  influential  natives  now  sub- 
scribed for  girls'  schools,  sent  their  daughters  to  be 
educated,  and  were  present  at  the  examinations. 
Mr.  Hume  attended  a  meeting  in  the  Town  Hall  at 
Bombay  for  distributing  prizes  to  the  pupils  of  eight 
girls'  schools,  established  and  superintended  by  a 
society  of  native  young  men.  Six  hundred  pupils 
were  reported  as  in  attendance.  In  several  of  the 
larger  towns  in  the  interior  similar  schools  wore 
also  found,  supported  by  natives,  and  the  number 
was  increasing.  The  native  periodical  press  Nativeperi. 
was  gradually  becoming  more  able  and  in-  odicaI  presB 

1  Fon  igii  Missions,  p.  205. 


124  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

fluential.  Several  periodicals  had  been  started  at 
different  times  for  the  purpose  of  reviling-  and  op- 
posing- Christianity,  but  they  had  all  been  short- 
lived. Though  the  existing  Mahratta  periodicals 
were  not  just  what  the  missionaries  desired,  their  in- 
fluence on  the  whole  was  salutary,  in  diffusing  useful 
information  and  destroying  confidence  in  prevalent 
superstitions.  The  periodical  published  by  the  mis- 
sion, once  in  two  weeks,  exerted  a  great  and  happy 
influence  on  the  community. 

Mrs.  Hume  was  now  the  only  lady  connected  with 
the  mission  at  Bombay,  and  her  labors  were  most 
valuable.  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the 
select  boarding-school  for  girls,  which  she  had  in 
her  own  house. 

The  health  of  Mr.  Burgess  obliged  him  to  return 
Retirement     to  America  early  in   1854,  bringing  with 

of  Mr.  Bur- 
gess, him    his    three    motherless    children,  and 

those  of  Mr.  Fairbank.  He  was  afflicted  during  his 
passage  by  the  death  of  one  of  his  children.  Mr. 
Wood  sought  relief  from  his  bereavement  and  soli- 
tude in  a  tour  of  five  weeks  among  the  villages. 
The  removal  of  Miss  Farrar  to  Satara  afforded  the 
proper  supervision  for  the  girls'  and  boys'  schools 
there.  Mrs.  Graves,  now  aged  and  infirm,  made  her 
home  at  Mahabalishwar,  where  she  had  a  school, 
which  received  a  liberal  support  from  English  resi- 
dents on  the  Hills.  Mr.  Wilder's  report  of  his  first 
year  of  labors  at  Kolapur,  at  the  close  of  1853, 
shows  that  he  felt  much  encouraged. 


MISSION   TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  125 

Mr.  Hume's  health,  after  fifteen  years  of  faithful 
and  valuable   service,   had   become  so   impaired    in 
1854,  that  a  visit   to  a  colder   climate  was  appar- 
ently'the  only  means  of  preserving  his  life,  voyage  and 
He   accordingly  embarked  on  the  20th  of  Mr.Hu.ne. 
September,  with  his  family,  for  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  in  an  English  ship,  there  being  no  American 
vessel  then  in  port,  intending  to  go  thence  to  the 
United  States.     He  was  not  permitted,  however,  to 
visit  the  home  of  his  early  years,  but  died  at  sea  on 
the  26th  of  November,  and  was  buried  in  sight  of 
the  coast  of  Africa,  just  a  week   before   the    ship 
arrived  at  Cape  Town.    Mrs.  Hume  and  her  children 
received  much  kindness  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Thomson, 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  and  others,  while 
detained  at  the  Cape,  and  reached  Bostou  on  the 
11th  of  April,  1855. 

The  author's  recollections  of  Mr.  Hume  are  chiefly 
as  a  correspondent;    and  he  was    not   ex-  nigcharac. 
celled,  in  the  extent  and  value  of  informa- 
tion thus  given,  by  any  one  of  his  brethren  .in  India. 
He  appreciated  his  position  in  the  commercial  cen- 
tre of  India,  which  was  soon  to  become,  as  he  be- 
lieved, through  a  magnificent   system  of  railways, 
the  door  of  ingress  for  all  the  Christian  nations  of 
the  West.     The  conversion  of  India,  through  the 
Gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  was  his  one  governing 
object  through  the  fifteen  years  of  his   missionary 
life;  nor  was  he  dishearteued   by  disappointments 


126  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

however  great,  nor  by  difficulties  however  unfore- 
seen. Where  many  would  have  been  cast  down  he 
was  calm  and  cheerful,  trusting-  in  the  Lord  and 
seeking  direction  from  Him.  He  was  a  firm  be- 
liever in  divine  Providence,  and  in  the  prosecution 
of  measures  once  deliberately  commenced,  he  care- 
fully observed  providential  indications,  that  he  might 
be  the  more  profoundly  assured  of  the  divine  appro- 
bation. He  was  greatly  respected  by  the  English 
and  native  community  of  Bombay,  and  his  loss  was 
deeply  felt  by  the  native  church,  the  general  mis- 
sionary circle,  and  the  different  benevolent  and  re- 
ligious societies  with  which  he  had  been  connected. 
A  fitting  memorial  of  him  may  be  seen  at  Bombay, 
in  the  "  Tract  Society  Building  "  of  three  stories, 
erected  by  funds  which  he,  as  Secretary  of  the  So- 
ciety, collected  near  the  close  of  his  life. 

And  here  I  cannot  withhold  a  beautiful  illustra- 
tion of  native  sympathy  in  the  hour  of  his  depar- 
ture from  Bombay.  I  give  it  as  it  was  related  by 
Mrs.  Hume,  soon  after  her  arrival,  to  a  lady  in 
Boston.1 

Mr.  Hume  being  entirely  prostrated  at  the  time 
a  native  me-  of  his  embarkation,  was  carried  on  board 
him.  the  ship  in  a  palanquin  and  laid  in  a  berth. 

1  The  statement  was  placed  by  the  lady  in  the  hands  of  the  Eev. 
David  Stoddard,  of  the  Nestorian  mission,  then  in  the  United  States, 
and  temporarily  editing  the  Youth's  Dayspring,  and  was  inserted  by 
him  in  that  work.     See  Youth's  Dayspring  for  June,  1855,  pp.  81,  82. 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  127 

He  and  his  family  having-  brought  many  of  the  peo- 
ple to  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  the  day  of  his  de- 
parture was  to  them  a  day  of  sorrow.     The  ship 
was  anchored  at  some  distance  from  the  shore,  but 
so  eager  were  the  people  to  be  with  their  beloved 
teachers  as  long  as  possible,  that  many  went  off  in 
boats,  and   quite   a  crowd   collected   on   the  deck, 
lingering  till  evening.     One  woman  was  allowed  to 
remain  ;  and  after  the  children  had  retired,  while 
Mrs.   Hume  was    sitting   alone   in   the   cabin,  this 
woman  came  and  sat  down  beside  her  on  the  floor, 
embraced  her  feet,  kissed  them,   and  wept.     Then 
looking  up  into  her  face,  she  said,  "  Madam  Sahib, 
(a  term  of  great  respect)  once  there  was  a  great 
tree,  a  beautiful  tree,  and  God  was  pleased  to  raise 
its  head  higher  than  any  of  the  trees.     It  had  many 
great   branches,  many  little   branches,    and    many, 
many  blossoms.     All  the  people  round  about  gath- 
ered under  its  shade.     The  fowls  of  the  air  and  the 
little  birds  built  their  nests,  and  laid  their  eggs,  and 
hatched   their   young   among   these    branches,  and 
here  they  sang  and  were  so  happy,  oh !  so  happy" 
Here  she  stopped  and  wept.    Lifting  her  head  again 
she  continued,  "  But  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  send  a 
great  storm,  and  to  lay  this  tree  low.     Its  branches 
were  cast  upon  the  ground,  all  the  people  were  scat- 
tered, the  birds  hovered  around  making  a  mournful 
cry,  not  knowing  where  to  find  a  resting-place,  the 
eggs  were  broken,  and  all  was  distress."     Here  she 


128  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA 

again  stopped  and  wept.  Then,  with  the  most  affec- 
tionate and  tender  expression,  she  took  hold  of  Mrs. 
Hume's  arm,  and  pointing  toward  the  inner  cabin, 
where    Mr.   Hume  was   lying,    she    said,   "  Madam 

Sahib,  THERE  LIES  THAT  TREE." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE. 
CEYLON   MISSION. 

1815-1822. 

Ceylon  was  brought  before  the  Board  and  the 
American  churches  by  the  communica-  Originof 
tions  of  Mr.  Newell,  who,  in  his  presumed 
exclusion  from  Bombay,  found  a  quiet  residence  on 
that  island.  In  December,  1813,  he  wrote  to  the 
Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board  recommend- 
ing a  mission  there.  Among  the  reasons  assigned 
was  the  friendly  disposition  of  General  Brownrigg 
the  Governor,  of  Sir  Alexander  Johnstone  the  Chief 
Justice,  of  the  Hon.  and  Rev.  Mr.  Twistleton  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Bisset  the  Chaplains,  and  indeed  of  all  the 
influential  men  at  the  seat  of  government. 

M^-.  Newell  landed  at  Point  de  Galle,  on  the 
southern  extremity  of  Ceylon,  on  his  way  from  the 
Isle  of  France,  and  went  thence  by  palanquin  eighty 
miles  to  Colombo,  by  an  excellent  road  along  the 
shore,  through  beautiful  groves  of  palmyra  trees. 
Governor  Brownrigg  gave  him  a  friendly  reception, 

9 


130  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

and  every  facility  for  visiting-  Jaffna,  the  northern 
province.  While  there,  he  enjoyed  the  hospitalities 
of  J.  N.  Mooyart,  Esq.,  to  whose  personal  kindness 
the  mission  was  afterwards  much  indebted.  He  be- 
came acquainted  with  the  Rev.  Christian  David,  a 
native  of  Tanjore,  who  had  been  a  pupil  of  Schwartz, 
and  had  charge  of  a  Protestant  native  congrega- 
tion. The  only  other  person  of  like  mind  in  Jaffna 
known  to  him,  was  a  lady  of  Dutch  extraction,  who 
spoke  the  Dutch,  Portuguese,  and  Tamil  languages, 
and  was  a  true  missionary  to  the  native  people. 
"  Here,"  wrote  Mr.  Newell,  "  there  is  every  facility 
for  spreading  the  Gospel  among  these  pagans.  The 
Governor  is  desirous  that  they  should  be  instructed, 
and  would  encourage  every  attempt  of  this  nature. 
The  people  have  no  particular  objection  to  the 
Christian  religion,  and  will  not  molest  missionaries, 
and  the  government  will  protect  them.  Perhaps  no 
portion  of  the  heathen  world  possesses  so  many 
advantages  for  spreading  the  Gospel." 

In  view  of  Mr.  Newell's  statements,  the  Pruden- 
tial Committee  resolved,  soon  after  the  proclamation 
of  peace  with  England,  to  send  a  mission  to  Ceylon, 
believing  that  in  this  they  followed  the  divine  lead- 
ing. 

Messrs.  James  Richards,  Edward  Warren,  Ben- 
jamin  C.  Meigs,    Horatio    Bardwell,    and 

The  mission. 

Daniel  Poor,  constituted  this  second  mis- 
sion of  the  Board.     They  received  ordination  in  the 


CEYLON  MISSION.  131 

Presbyterian  church  at  Newburyport  on  the  21st  of 
June,  1815.  The  house,  one  of  the  largest  in  the 
commonwealth,  was  thronged,  not  only  during  the 
ordination  services,  but  at  the  subsequent  celebra- 
tion of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Pastors  and  delegates 
from  ten  churches,  with  Professors  from  the  Au- 
dover  Theological  Seminary,  composed  the  Coun- 
cil, which  had  been  assembled  by  invitation  from  the 
Prudential  Committee.  This  was  the  customary 
mode  of  inviting  councils  for  the  ordination  of  Con- 
gregational missionaries  down  to  about  the  year 
1830 ;  after  which  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  leave 
the  matter  with  the  missionary  candidates  and  the 
churches  to  which  they  belonged. 

These  missionaries,  all  of  them  married  except 
Mr.  Warren,  sailed  from  Newburyport  Oc-  Theembar. 
tober  23d,  in  the  brig  Dryad  for  Colombo  kation- 
in  Ceylon.  What  was  familiarly  known  then  and 
afterwards  as  "  the  embarkation,"  until  the  substi- 
tution of  steamships  for  sailing  vessels,  was  thus 
described  at  the  time ;  and  the  memory  of  these 
seasons  of  thrilling  interest  ought  not  utterly  to 
perish.  "  The  day  was  pleasant.  A  large  concourse 
assembled  on  the  wharf  where  the  vessel  lay,  on  ad- 
joining wharves,  and  wherever  was  a  near  view  of 
the  scene.  The  vessel's  deck  was  filled  with  visit- 
ors, mostly  ladies,  the  particular  friends  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, assembled  to  bid  them  a  last  farewell. 
Just  before  the  tide  was  most  favorable  for  sailing, 


132  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

Dr.  Spring"  addressed  the  throne  of  grace.  The  ut- 
most stillness  and  solemnity  pervaded  the  multitude. 
A  missionary  hymn  was  sung-.  Many  were  bathed 
in  tears.  The  visitors  immediately  stepped  on 
shore,  the  vessel  left  the  wharf,  spread  her  sails  to 
the  breeze,  and  quietly  entered  on  her  voyage,  fol- 
lowed by  the  gaze  of  many  deeply  interested  spec- 
tators." » 

The  company  arrived  at  Colombo  on  the  22d  of 
March,  1816,  and  the  Governor  gave  full 

The  arrival. 

consent  to  the  commencing  of  a  mission 
in  Jaffna.  An  opposing  monsoon  delayed  their  de- 
parture from  Colombo  several  months,  but  all  were 
together  in  Jaffnapatam  before  the  end  of  the  year, 
except  Mr.  Bardwell,  whose  knowledge  of  printing- 
made  it  desirable  that  he  should  join  the  mission  at 
Bombay. 

The  field  to  be  occupied  by  these  brethren  was 
The  field  to  unlike  that  among  the  Mahrattas.  Jaffna 
e  occupied,  j^  ]jeeu  missionary  ground  of  some  sort, 
perhaps  to  its  disadvantage,  for  more  than  three 
centuries.2  It  was  first  occupied  by  the  Roman 
Catholics;  next,  by  the  Dutch  ;  and  then  by  the 
English.  The  Portuguese  divided  the  province  into 
thirty-seven    parishes,  and   provided    each 

Previously  *  *  '  * 

theUportu-by  with  a  church  of  coral,  and  a  glebe  for  the 
guese.  residence  of  a  Franciscau  priest.    Some  of 

1  Panoplist  for  1815,  p.  533. 

2  From  1544,  when  Francis  Xavier  spent  a  year  in  Jaffna. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  133 

the  churches  were  very  spacious,  and  their  ruins 
attest  the  care  and  cost  of  their  construction.  In 
Jaffnapatam  there  was  a  church  and  college  of 
Jesuits,  a  church  and  convent  of  Dominicans,  and  a 
convent  of  Franciscans.  When  the  Dutch  made 
themselves  masters  of  the  fortress  in  1G58,  Bald;eus, 
the  Dutch  historian,  saw  from  forty  to  fifty  ecclesi- 
astics —  Jesuits,  Franciscans,  and  Dominicans  — 
marched  out ;  and  it  is  asserted  on  apparently  good 
authority,  that  while  Jaffna  was  occupied  by  the  Por- 
tuguese, almost  its  entire  population,  including  even 
the  brahmins,  submitted  to  the  rite  of  baptism.1 

The  Dutch  seized  all  the  Portuguese  possessions 
in  Ceylon  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  as  occupied 

by  the 

century,  and  established  the  Reformed  Dutch. 
Church  of  Holland  in  the  colony.  They  had  suf- 
fered so  cruelly  themselves  in  their  own  country 
from  the  Catholics,  that  they  banished  the  Romish 
priests  from  Jaffua  under  the  severest  penalties. 
But  many  of  them  contrived  to  remain,  and  large 
bodies  of  the  natives  are  said  to  have  adhered  pri- 
vately to  the  papal  religion.  The  failure  of  the 
Dutch  mission  in  Jaffna  is  instructive.  Like  that 
of  the  Portuguese,  it  was  intimately  connected  with 
the  government.  The  Dutch  repaired  the  churches 
erected  by  the  Papists,  and  put  a  large  school  in 
each,  which  became  the  nucleus  of  the  congrega- 
tion ;  and  the  attendance  of  pupils  was  enforced  by 

1  Sir  James  Emerson  Tcnnent  on  Christianity  in  Ceylon,  p.  13. 


134  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

fines  upon  the  parents.  The  instruction  was  gratu- 
itous, but  superficial.  One  of  the  earliest  and 
ablest  of  the  Dutch  missionaries  testifies  to  the 
small  amount  of  religious  instruction  he  found  it 
expedient  to  require  for  admission  to  church  mem- 
bership. The  converts  in  Jaffna,  only  five  years 
after  the  conquest,  were  estimated  at  65,000,  and, 
twenty  years  later,  at  180,000.  How  feebly  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity  were  inculcated  is  evident 
from  the  fact,  that  the  instruction  was  imparted  al- 
most wholly  through  interpreters.  Of  ninety-seven 
Dutch  clergymen  in  Ceylon,  between  the  years  1642 
and  1725,  only  eight  could  preach  in  the  native  lan- 
guages, four  of  them  in  Tamil,  and  four  in  Singa- 
lese.  In  1749,  there  were  but  five  Dutch  clergymen 
in  all  Ceylon,  and  of  these  only  one  understood  the 
language  of  the  natives.  The  celebrated  Christian 
Frederick  Schwartz  spent  the  year  1759  in  Jaffna. 
School  children  were  seldom  taught  more  than  to 
read  and  write  their  own  language;  and  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  their  teachers  were  no  better  Christians 
than  their  parents.  Even  this  small  amount  of 
teaching  was  discouraged  by  the  supreme  authori- 
ties at  Batavia,  who  regretted  the  charge  it  made  on 
the  Netherlands  East  India  Company.  "At  the 
close  of  their  ministrations,"  says  Mr.  Tennent,  "  the 
clergy  of  the  Church  of  Holland  left  behind  a  super- 
structure of  Christianity,  prodigious  in  its  outward 
dimensions,  but  so  unsound  internally,  as  to  be  dis- 


Occupied  by 
the  English. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  135 

trusted  even  by  those  who  had  been  instrumental  in 
its  erection  ;  and  so  unsubstantial,  that  it  has  long1 
since  disappeared  almost  from  the  memory  of  the 
natives  of  Ceylon."  1 

England  dates  her  possession  of  Ceylon  from 
1802.  Among  the  first  efforts  of  her  offi- 
cials was  an  attempt  to  revive  the  educa 
tional  system  of  the  Dutch ;  and  for  some  years  the 
Presbyterian  "Church,  according-  to  the  forms  of  the 
Church  of  Holland,  was  practically  the  ecclesiastical 
establishment  of  the  colony.  But  the  Presbyterian 
clergy  gradually  diminished  in  number,  though 
Scotland  was  appealed  to  for  aid ;  and  so  small  was 
the  government  allowance  for  education,  that  nearly 
fifty  schools  were  discontinued  in  Jaffna  in  one  year.2 
As  religious  conformity  was  not  required  by  the 
English,  and  the  possession  of  offices  no  longer  de- 
pended on  an  outward  profession  of  Christianity, 
the  number  of  nominal  Christians  rapidly  declined. 
In  1802,  the  Protestant  Christians  in  Jaffna  were 
estimated  at  136,000.  Four  years  later,  Dr.  Bu- 
chanan described  the  fine  old  churches  erected  by 
the  Portuguese  as  decaying,  and  the  only  mission- 
aries in  the  District  as  Romanists  from  the  college 
at  Goa.3  The  neglect  of  the  government  to  prevent 
the  natives  from  returning  to  heathenism,  made 
known    doubtless   by  the   publications    of   Dr.    Bu- 

1  Temient,  p.  71.  2  Tennent,  p.  81. 

8  Buchanan's  Researches,  p.  60. 


136  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

chanan,  awakened  complaint  in  England,  and  Lord 
Castlereagh,  the  Secretary  of  State,  exhorted  Sir 
Thomas  Maitland,  the  Governor,  to  attend  to  the 
matter.  Three  English  missionaries  who  had  ar- 
rived in  1804,  now  received  special  favor  from  the 
local  authorities.  One  of  them,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Palm, 
connected  with  the  London  Missionary  Society,  was 
stationed  at  Tillipally  in  Jaffna.  He  remained  there 
only  a  few  years,  and  when  the  American  mission 
arrived,  was  connected  with  a  Dutch  church  at  Co- 
lombo. 

One  cannot  but  wonder  at  the  rapid  renunciation 
sudden  re-     of  even  the    name   of  Christianity  by  the 

lapse  to 

idolatry.  people  of  Jaffna,  after  the  departure  of  the 
Dutch.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that 
the  chains  of  caste  bad  never  been  broken,  and  that 
the  doctrines  of  Christianity  had  been  too  superfi- 
cially taught  to  make  much  impression  on  the  re- 
luctant minds  of  the  natives.  Very  few  of  the 
Dutch  ministers,  moreover,  had  command  of  the 
vernacular  language,  and  therefore  preached  through 
the  cold  medium  of  interpreters.1  Their  numbers 
were  too  few.  In  1722,  there  were  in  all  Ceylon 
only  fourteen  clergymen  for  half  a  million  of  nomi- 
nal Christians,  and  almost  no  native  ministry,  and 
the  education  imparted  in  their  schools  was  "  infiu- 
itesimally  small."  To  all  this  it  should  be  added, 
that  the  people,  accustomed  to  a  system  of  religious 

1  Rev.  Mr.  Palm,  as  quoted  by  Tennent. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  137 

compulsion  for  nearly  two  centuries,  expected  a  con- 
tinuance of  the  same  rigor  on  the  arrival  of  the 
British,  and  were  prepared  to  accept  an}'  prescribed 
form  of  Christianity.  But  finding  that  its  outward 
profession  was  no  longer  required  for  holding  gov- 
ernment offices,  and  that  they  were  no  longer  to  be 
paid  for  their  hypocrisies,  the  number  of  nominal 
Christians  began  rapidly  to  decline;  until  Dr.  Bu- 
ehanan  described  the  Protestant  religion  in  1806,  as 
being  extinct  in  Jaffna.  Catholic  priests,  flocking 
in  from  Goa,  had  induced  great  numbers  to  join  the 
Roman  Catholic  communion  ;  and  the  large  residue 
rebuilt  their  heathen  temples,  and  publicly  resumed 
their  idolatrous  rites.  The  heathenism  of  Jaffna  is 
Hindu,  the  same  with  that  which  prevails  on  the 
neighboring  continent.  In  the  Singalese  or  south- 
ern provinces  of  Ceylon,  the  heathenism  is  of  the 
Buddhist  form,  such  as  prevails  in  the  Barman  em- 
pire. 

The  province  of  Jaffna  is  a  cluster  of  islands  at 
the  northern  extremity  of  Ceylon,  separated  JllTnade. 
from  each  other  by  narrow  channels,  and 
rising  but  little  above  the  level  of  the  sea.     The 
ruined  old  churches  in  this  province  belonged  to  the 
Government,  which  allowed  the  American   Favor  from 

the  ^overo- 

missionaries  to  occupy  the   buildings  and  ment. 
glebes  at  Batticotta  and  Tillipally.     The  remains  of 
the  one  at  Batticotta  were  the  finest  in  the  district. 
The  roof  was  gone;  but  its  walls  of  coral,  four  feet 


138  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

thick,  were  standing-,  and  enclosed  a  space  one 
hundred  and  sixty-three  feet  long*  and  fifty-seven 
wide.  Two  rows  of  ten  pillars,  each  ten  feet  in  cir- 
cumference, had  divided  the  interior  into  three 
aisles.  Two  thirds  of  such  a  building-  was  large 
enough  for  a  place  of  worship,  and  the  remainder 
was  ultimately  used  for  school-rooms  and  other  pur- 
poses. There  were  also  the  walls  of  a  dwelling- 
house  more  than  one  hundred  feet  long,  and  of  five 
small  out-buildings,  all  without  roofs  or  windows. 
In  the  rear  of  all  was  a  garden  of  nearly  two  acres, 
enclosed  by  a  high  coral  wall,  and  containing  three 
wells  for  watering  it  in  times  of  drought.  On  the 
premises  were  sixty  trees,  twenty-nine  of  which  were 
fruitful  palmyras  capable  of  supporting  a  native 
family.  The  buildings  at  these  two  stations  were 
repaired  by  the  mission,  and  the  Government  after- 
wards granted  the  church  buildings  in  six  other 
parishes. 

It  being  found  that  many  parents  would  put  their 
opening  of  children  under  the  care  of  the  mission- 
Bchoois."  aries  for  education,  if  the  mission  would 
support  them,  it  was  decided  to  open  a  boarding- 
school  for  boys  at  Tillipally,  where  the  estimated 
annual  cost  of  each  would  be  about  twelve  Spanish 
dollars.  Placing  the  boys  in  a  building  erected  for 
the  purpose  in  the  garden,  they  were  in  good  meas- 
ure kept  from  the  influence  of  heathen  society,  and 
were  steadily  employed  in  useful  studies.    They  were 


CEYLON  MISSION.  139 

also  instructed  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion as  fully  as  if  they  had  been  the  children  of 
Christian  parents. 

The  Tamil  language  is  not  easy  of  acquisition, 
and  the  preaching,  for  a  time,  was  neces-  Preachingm 
sarily  through  interpreters;  but  in  Octo- 
ber, 1817,  just  a  year  after  settling  at  Tillipally,  Mr. 
Poor  commenced  preaching  in  the  native  language ; 
and  so  did  Mr.  Meigs  at  Batticotta. 

Painful  apprehensions  had  arisen  before  this  time, 
as  to  the  health  of  Messrs.  Warren    and  Fallureof 
Richards.     The  climate  of  Jaffna,  though 
one  of  the  best,  was  found  too  bracing  for  them,  and 
Mr.  Warren  was  prostrated  by  a  hemorrhage.    They 
repaired  first  to  Colombo,  aud  then  to  Cape  Town, 
Governor  Brownrigg  granting  them  a  free  passage 
in  a  public  vessel.      The  voyage  was  beneficial  till 
near  its  close,  when  they  were  driven  back  to  sea  by 
tempestuous  weather,  and  both  of  the  inva-  vi8ittoC;ire 
lids  took  severe  colds.      They  arrived   at 
Cape  Town  on  the  11th  of  July,  and  were  received 
with  distinguished  kindness  by  Christian  friends,  es- 
pecially by  the  Rev.  George  Thorn,  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society.     Mr.  Warren  died  on   PoathofMr. 
the  11th  of  August,  1818,  at  the  age  of    Warren- 
thirty-two.   Though  young  in  the  service,  his  breth- 
ren bore  united  testimony  to  his  eminent  devotcd- 
ness  to  the  holy  cause,  his  well-directed  zeal,  his 
diligence  in  labors,  his  equanimity  in  sufferings,  his 


140  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

wisdom  in  counsel,  and  his  prudence,  kindness,  and 
heavenly  niindedness.  His  exemplary  resignation, 
during'  his  lengthened  illness,  and  his  conversation 
were  in  a  high  degree  edifying.  He  was  heard  to 
say  faintly,  just  before  departing,  "  Is  this  death  ? 
Yes,  this  is  death.  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come 
quickly."  Such  were  his  last  words.  Mr.  Rich- 
Return  of  ards  returned  to  Jaffna  with  somewhat  inl- 
aw's, proved  health,  and  his  life  was  prolonged 
several  years. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  1819,  Messrs.  Levi  Spauld- 
The  mission  'mS>  Miron  Winslow,  Henry  Woodward, 
reinforced.     afld  Johu  g^dfler,  M.  D.,  sailed  for  this 

mission  from  Boston  with  their  wives,  in  the  bri-g 
Indus,  Captain  Willis,  bound  to  Calcutta.  Persons 
are  living  who  remember  the  remarkable  religious 
awakening  on  board  the  Indus  during  this  voyage, 
embracing  the  greater  part  of  the  crew.  The  mis- 
sion families  had  some  afflictive  experiences  at  Cal- 
cutta; but  there,  and  at  Trincomalee,  Galle,  and  Co- 
lombo, they  found  missionary  friends  to  help  them 
on  their  way,  and  all  reached  Jaffna  early  in  the 
following  year.  Their  arrival  was  opportune,  as  the 
health  of  Messrs.  Poor  and  Meigs  was  beginning  to 
fail.  Considering  the  decidedly  oceanic  character 
of  the  climate,  it  is  singular  that  the  cases  of  illness 
thus  far  had  all  been  pulmonary. 

The  parishes  under  the  particular  care  of  the 
mission  were   eight,  namely,  Tillipally,  Batticotta, 


CEYLON  MISSION.  141 

Oodooville,  Panditeripo,  Manepy,  Mallagaum,  Mi- 
lette,  and  Changany.  The  repairs  of  the  Themissifm 
old  church  building's  were  somewhat  ex-  stat,ona 
pensive,  yet  were  they  deemed  of  great  advantage 
to  the  mission.  The  total  number  of  pupils  at  the 
close  of  the   year   1818,  was  about  seven 

mi  •  in  rr*     •  Tfle  schools- 

hundred.  The  mission  had  an  efficient 
assistant  in  Maleappa,  a  native  of  Malabar  about 
twenty  years  of  age*,  the  son  of  a  native  preacher 
supported  by  government  at  Negombo.  He  had 
been  in  Christian  David's  school  at  Jaft'napatam, 
and  was  instructed  by  the  first  members  of  the  mis- 
sion while  delayed  at  Colombo.  About  a  dozen  girls 
attended  worship  on  the  Sabbath  and  recited  the  cat- 
echism, and  about  the  same  number  of  women  were 
present.  The  dress  of  the  native  children,  and  of 
the  men  generally,  was  of  the  most  simple  kind  ; 
consisting  of  a  piece  of  plain  India  cotton  a  yard  in 
width  and  two  or  two  and  a  half  in  length,  wound 
round  the  person.  The  practice  was  soon  intro- 
duced of  giving  names  to  the  beneficiaries  in  board- 
ing-schools, according  to  the  wishes  of  patrons  in 
America. 

Those  who  have  been  familiar  with  the  financial 
operations  of  the  Board   only  since  1831,  Difficulties 

.in  remitting 

when  it  began  to  remit  funds  to  the  mis-  funds. 
sions  through  the  Messrs.  Baring  of  London,  can 
hardly  imagine  the  embarrassments  growing  out  of 
the   delays   and    uncertainty   of  remittances    while 


142  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

the  Board  was  young  in  years  and  little  known.  Of 
what  avail  would  it  have  been  to  draw  bills  on  the 
Board,  unless  the  Board  had  a  recognized  existence 
in  the  commercial  world  ?  Meeting  the  exigency 
with  Spanish  dollars  was  expensive,  their  seasonable 
arrival  was  uncertain,  and  if  sent  long  in  advance 
there  was  the  loss  of  interest.  The  difficulty  was  in 
part  overcome,  for  a  time,  by  the  kind  and  generous 
agency  of  Messrs.  Arbuthnot,  De  Monte,  &  Co.,  of 
Madras,  and  Edward  A.  Newton,  Esq.,  of  Calcutta. 
A  printing-press  having  been  given  for  the  mis- 
sion, types  were  ordered  from  Calcutta,  and 

A  printing  7     J  L 

nientno't'ai-  Mr.  James  Garrett,  a  printer,  was  sent  out 
to  take  charge  of  the  establishment.  He 
arrived  in  August,  1820,  and  the  consent  of  the  gov- 
ernment was  requested  for  his  residence  on  the  isl- 
and. There  was  every  reason  to  presume  it  would 
be  given.  Sir  Robert  Brownrigg,  Sir  Alexander 
Johnstone,  and  Archdeacon  Twisleton  had  done 
everything  to  encourage  the  mission,  and  official 
permission  had  been  given  to  their  having  a  print- 
ing-press, "  subject  to  the  censorship  of  the  govern- 
ment." Under  what  unfavorable  influences  Sir  Ed- 
ward Barnes,  the  Lieutenant-governor  who  succeeded 
Sir  Robert,  had  been  educated,  is  not  known  ;  but 
when  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Garrett  was  communicated 
to  him,  as  it  was  without  delay  through  the  vener- 
able Dr.  Twisleton,  and  permission  was  requested 
that  their  newly-arrived  brother  might  be  associated 


CEYLON  MISSION.  143 

with  them  in  labor,  Sir  Edward  directed  his  secre- 
tary to  reply,  that  government  did  not  deem  it 
proper  to  allow  any  increase  of  American  mission- 
aries in  Ceylon  ;  and  that  Mr.  Garrett  could  The  printer 
not  be  permitted  to  reside  in  Jaffna,  but 
must  leave  the  island  within  three  months  from 
August  24th,  the  date  of  the  letter.  Surprised  by 
such  a  communication,  the  missionaries  supposed 
the  Governor  must  have  been  under  some  misappre- 
hensions, which  a  full  exhibition  of  the  facts  would 
remove.  They  prepared  a  memorial,  therefore,  in 
which  they  called  his  attention  to  the  inoffensive 
nature  of  their  mission,  to  its  freedom  from  all  po- 
litical intent,  to  the  approbation  received  from  the 
late  Governor  and  the  leading  men  around  him,  to 
the  schools  which  the  missionaries  had  established, 
to  the  expenses  incurred  in  repairs  at  the  different 
stations,  and  to  the  official  permission  they  received 
in  1816  to  the  setting  up  of  a  press.  They  asked, 
that  Mr.  Garrett  might  remain  with  them  at  least 
until  the  pleasure  of  the  king's  government  could 
be  known. 

The   Governor's   reply   to   this,  dated  September 
22d,  may   be   found,  with   the   memorials  The  prover- 

nor  inexora- 

from  the  mission,  in  the  Appendix  to  the  ble- 
Report  of  the  Board  for  182 1.1     It  was  a  strange 
document.     And  when   au  appeal  was  made  to  his 
benevolence,  on  the  ground  that  no  passage  for  the 

l  pp.  168-176. 


144  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

United  States  could  be  obtained  nearer  than  Cal- 
cutta, and  that,  during  the  rainy  season,  then  at 
hand,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  proceed  to  that 
port  by  water  on  account  of  the  monsoon,  or  by  land 
in  consequence  of  heavy  rains,  and  they  humbly 
requested  that  the  time  for  his  departure  might  be 
prolonged  at  least  two  months ;  this  was  refused. 
Mr.  Garrett  therefore  proceeded  to  Negapatam,  on 
the  Coromandel  coast,  wholly  uncertain  as  to  his 
future  destination. 

It  is  unpleasant  to  be  obliged  to   add,  that  Sir 
Action  of  the  Edward    Barnes'  decision    against   an   in- 

government  . 

athome.  crease  in  the  number  of  American  mission- 
aries in  Jaffna  was,  some  time  afterwards,  affirmed 
by  the  home  government,  and  continued  ill  force 
until  the  year  1832. 

The  Jaffna  brethren  were  led  at  that  time  to  in- 
supposed       quire,  whether  they  ought  not  to   extend 

call  for  a  .  .  m 

new  mission,  their  operations  to  the  people  on  the  adja- 
cent continent  speaking  the  same  language.  In- 
deed they  designated  two  of  their  number  to  take 
measures  for  occupying  a  station  on  the  Coroman- 
del coast,  but  relinquished  the  project  on  hearing 
that  the  departure  of  Mr.  Bardwell  from  Bombay 
had  created  a  call  for  Mr.  Garrett  to  that  place. 
The  Danish  missionaries  at  Tranquebar  received 
Mr.  Garrett  most   kiudlv,  and  hailed  the 

Excellent  ">  ' 

Danta^nriB?    cooperation  of  American  Christians  in  the 
work  as  an  event  joyful  in  itself,  and  most 


CEYLON  MISSION.  145 

encouraging  to   those  who  had    previously  entered 
the  field. 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Poor,  on  the  7th  of  May,  1821, 
was  a  sore  affliction  to  the  mission,  as  well  Death  of 
as  to  her  husband  and  children.  Her  ill- 
ness was  regarded  as  dangerous  from  the  first,  but 
her  intellectual  powers  were  in  vigorous  exercise 
during1  the  whole  fortnight  of  its  continuance,  and 
her  death-bed  was  a  scene  of  victory  and  exultation. 
It  was  edifying  and  animating  to  those  around  her 
to  witness  her  clear  and  satisfactory  views  of  the 
Gospel  scheme  of  salvation,  and  of  her  own  interest 
in  the  Saviour,  and  her  lively  anticipations  of  heav- 
enly realities.  Her  surviving  friends  could  not  but 
rejoice  with  her,  and  go  forth  to  their  several  labors 
consoled  and  strengthened.1 

Mrs.  Poor  was  a  faithful  helper  to  the  mission, 
and  endeared  to  all  her  associates.  She  was  an  in- 
valuable friend  to  the  children  of  the  heathen, 
whose  spiritual  interests  she  habitually  consulted. 
A  short  account  of  her  life  and  death,  circulated 
among  the  natives,  was  believed  to  have  been  a 
means  of  blessing  to  many. 

•       i  Missionary  Herald  for  1822,  pp.  94-96,  and  121-127. 


lfl 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  TAMIL   PEOPLE. 
CEYLON   MISSION. 

1820-1832. 

The  Ceylou  mission  was  gradually  working  itself 
„    ,        .   into   that    system   of    schools,    which   for 

Development  •" 

of  schools.  neariy  ]iaif  a  century  formed  one  of  its 
prominent  features.  The  facility  with  which  hea- 
then children  were  obtained  for  Christian  training 
was  remarkable.  Doubtless  the  access  which  a  mod- 
erate knowledge  of  English  gave  to  lucrative  posi- 
tions in  government  offices,  plantations,  and  mer- 
cantile houses,  promoted,  to  a  considerable  extent, 
this  readiness  to  learn. 

The  schools  were  of  two  classes,  the  village  free 
schools,  and  the  boarding-schools.  The  free  schools 
were  commenced  at  once  under  heathen  masters, 
no  others  being  attainable.  Mainly  through  con- 
versions in  the  boarding-schools,  this  evil  gradually 
diminished,  and  the  schools  went  on  prosperously. 
The  first  boarding-school  for  boys  was  commenced 
by  Mr.   Poor   at   Tillipally,  soon    after  his   arrival. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  147 

Girls  were  also  obtained  as  boarders  as  early  as  1818. 
All  received  Christian  names,  proposed  by  patrons 
in  America,  and  were  pleased  with  them  as  tokens 
of  approbation  and  pledges  of  support ;  but  among 
their  heathen  friends  they  were  known  only  by  their 
old  names.1  In  1823  there  were  boarding-schools 
at  most  of  the  stations. 

The  missionaries  at  this  time  projected  a  College, 
in  which  the  course  of  study  should  occupy  Proposll  for 

,  f  \       a  college. 

six  years.    In  giving  their  reasons  tor  such 
an  institution,  they  said  :  "  Those  unacquainted  with 
the  existing  state  of  things  in  India  cannot  under- 
stand the  hindrances  to  the  reception  of  the  Gospel 
in   that  country.      Not  one  of  those  evidences,  on 
which  Christianity  rests  its  claims  at  home,  can  be 
fully   apprehended   here.      The   internal    evidences 
from  the   excellence   and    sublimity   of  the   sacred 
Scriptures  are  little  understood,  and  the   external 
evidences    cannot  be   apprehended   at   all.     If  we 
speak  of  prophecies  which  have  been  fulfilled,  the 
history  of  the  times  when  they  were  spoken   and 
when  accomplished  is  alike  unknown.     If  of  mira- 
cles, we  are   told   of  unnumbered    miracles  vastly 
more  marvelous  than  any  of  which  we  can   speak. 
Besides,  the  belief  that  miracles  constantly  occur, 
even  now,  hinders  their  being  received  as  a  divine 
attestation   to   the   truth   of    Christianity.      Before 
these  evidences  can  be  appreciated  by  the  people  of 

i  Missionary  Herald,  L820,  p.  136. 


148  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

India,  they  must  first  understand  something'  of  his- 
tory, and  enough  of  true  science  at  least  to  know 
what  a  miracle  is.  They  must  learn  to  bring-  their 
credulous  belief  in  everything"  marvelous  to  the  test 
of  reason,  and  understand  the  difference  between 
truth  and  fable,  and  think,  compare,  reflect;  things 
which  the  great  mass  of  people  in  India  never  do. 
General  knowledge  must  be  disseminated.  It  might 
easily  be  shown,  that  so  contrary  to  fact  are  the 
principles  of  Geology,  Natural  Philosophy,  and  As- 
tronomy, as  laid  down  in  their  sacred  books,  that 
even  a  superficial  acquaintance  with  these  branches 
of  science  would  explode  their  systems,  and  materi- 
ally affect  the  credit  of  the  books  which  contain 
them." 

That  there  were  good  reasons  for  the  liberal  edu- 
cation of  translators  and  teachers,  will  not  be  ques- 
tioned. But  the  reflecting  mind,  looking  upon  the 
actual  influences  of  the  Gospel,  will  see  that  it  has, 
and  must  have,  through  the  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  a  more  direct  access  to  the  heart  where  it  is 
faithfully  presented,  than  can  be  secured  by  any 
other  agency,  whatever  the  amount  of  ignorance  to 
be  removed,  or  the  influence  of  false  systems  to  be 
overcome. 

Subscriptions  for  the  proposed  College  were  ob- 
Adversepo-    tained    to   some  extent  in  India;  but  the 

sition  of  the  # 

government.  Government  of  Ceylon  would  not  sanction 
such  au  institution  in  connection  with  the  American 


CEYLON  MISSION.  149 

mission,  alleging  that  a  College,  if  instituted,  should 
be  under  teachers  sent  from  England. 

Sir  Edward  Barnes  doubtless  communicated  his 
views  to  his  government  at  home;  for  when  the 
Prudential  Committee,  at  the  beginning  of  1826, 
through  the  kind  aid  of  Mr.  Wilberforce,  opened  a 
correspondence  with  the  Home  Government  on  the 
subject,  the  reply  was,  that  no  increase  of  the  num- 
ber of  American  missionaries  in  Ceylon  would  be 
permitted,  and  that  a  College,  if  established,  should 
be  under  instructors  from  Great  Britain. 

It  was  still  possible,  however,  to  have  a  high 
school,   which    should    give   an    education  „   .  , 

&  Central 

nearly  or  quite  equal  to  what  was  then  pos-  H^Sft 

•  iio  11  •  x  •  Batticotta. 

sible  for  a  college  in  so  remote  a  province. 
Permission  was  obtained  from  the  subscribers  to 
apply  the  funds  already  pledged  in  India  to  the  cen- 
tral boarding-school  at  Batticotta,  and  the  needed 
buildings  were  erected.  The  principal  building, 
sixty-four  feet  by  twenty-nine,  with  a  veranda  on 
each  side,  designed  for  library,  apparatus,  lecture 
rooms,  and  examinations,  was  called  Ottley  Hall,  in 
honor  of  Sir  Richard  Ottley,  Associate  Justice  of 
Ceylon,  who  had  shown  a  deep  interest  in  the  mis- 
sion, and  had  rendered  valuable  aid  by  his  personal 
influence  and  donations.  A  dining-hall  was  also 
erected,  with  rooms  for  study  and  devotion.  And  as 
they  were  not  permitted  to  look  for  professors  to 
America,  the  Seminary  was  to  furnish,  as  fast  as 


150  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

possible,  a  faculty  for  itself.  Twenty-two  out  of  its 
fifty-three  students  were  members  of  the  church, 
and  eighteen  more  were  received  from  the  prepara- 
tory school.  Seventy  candidates  presented  them- 
selves for  examination,  to  take  the  places  of  the 
eighteen  thus  promoted,  and  of  these  thirty  were 
received. 

The  station  boarding-schools  for  boys  were  fol- 
Engiish  lowed  by  what  were  called  English  schools, 
intended  to  prepare  lads  to  enter  the  Bat- 
ticotta  Seminary  at  small  expense  while  residing  at 
home  with  their  relatives.  The  English  language 
was  taught  in  their  schools,  but  the  pupils  all 
pursued  a  thorough  course  of  study  in  the  vernac- 
ular. They  had  previously  become  familiar  with  the 
catechisms,  Scripture  history,  and  Bible  reading 
taught  in  the  native  free  schools,  though  a  further 
acquaintance  with  these  Christian  lessons  was  re- 
quired to  enter  the  Seminary.  The  Bible  was  read 
daily  both  in  English  and  Tamil.  Almost  all  the 
schools  had  Christian  teachers,  and  they  were  usu- 
ally so  near  the  residence  of  a  missionary  as  to  be 
under  his  eye  and  influence.  The  largest  number  of 
these  English  schools  was  sixteen  in  the  year  1848, 
with  six  hundred  and  eighteen  pupils. 

A  boarding-school  for  girls  was  commenced  at 
„   ,  ,         Oodooville,  in  the  year  1826.     Sixteen  of 

Central  '  •> 

Mhooinfor      its  first  pupils  had  previously  been  under 
the  instruction  of  missionary  ladies  at  the 


CEYLON  MISSION.  151 

different  stations.    Its  design  was  to  take  girls  away 
from  the  heathen  influences  of  their  homes,  and  so 
provide  suitable  companions  for  the  graduates  of  the 
Batticotta  Seminary.      The  school  was  for  a  time 
under  the  care  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Win  slow,  and,  after 
several  changes,  under  that  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spann- 
ing.    The  prejudices  agaiust  female  education  were 
everywhere  very  strong,  and  had  come  down  from 
ancient  times.     Mr.  Meigs  could  hear  of  only  three 
respectable  females  in  Jaffna  in  1816,  who  were  able 
to  read  and  write.     A  certain  amount  of  education 
was  given  to  those  who  were  to   become  dancing 
girls  in  the  native  temples,  and  to  sing  the  dissolute 
songs  connected  with  the  temple  worship. 

For  twenty  years,  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  re- 
tain pupils  in  this  school  until  marriage,  except  in 
cases  of  misconduct,  and  that  they  should  receive 
clothing  as  well  as  board.     When  married  with  the 
approval  of  the  mission,  they  received  a  dowry  of 
about  twenty-five  dollars.    After  that  time,  however, 
no  pledges  of  dowry  were  given,  and  in  two  years 
more   the  term  of  residence   became   limited.     At 
the  end  of  another  two  years,  a  portion  of  the  pu- 
pils were  required  to  pay  something  towards  their 
board.     Yet  the  applicants  for  reception  continued 
to  be  more  than  could  be  admitted.     The  ages  at 
which  pupils  could  enter  the  seminary  varied  from 
six  to  ten  years.     They  were  from  different  castes, 
though  neither  from  the  highest  nor  the  lowest, 


152  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

and  very  few  were  from  wealthy  families.  The 
whole  number  of  pupils,  up  to  the  year  1854,  was 
two  hundred  and  ninety-five,  of  whom  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  became  church  members ;  and  not 
more  than  twelve  of  these  dishonored  their  profession. 

The  firmness  with  which  the  graduates  of  this 
school  adhered  to  their  Christian  profession,  was  re- 
markable. When  in  Ceylon,  the  author  saw  many 
of  them  as  wives  and  mothers,  at  their  own  homes 
and  elsewhere.  They  were  intelligent,  thoroughly 
Christianized,  cordial  in  their  manners,  and  evi- 
dently a  blessing  in  their  families,  and  in  the  com- 
munity. 

Children  in  the  boarding-school  were  separated 
,.   ,     from   the   outside  world   for   a   time,  aud 

The  schools 

^gc"„svtitu-  brought  under  religious  influences  ;  but 
were  somewhat  in  the  situation  of  green- 
house plants  in  winter.  Whatever  the  view  subse- 
quently taken  of  the  defects  of  boarding-school 
training  as  a  means  for  providing  efficient  helpers 
in  the  Christian  work,  it  became  an  interesting 
study  as  a  converting  agency. 

REVIVALS   OF   RELIGION. 

Anticipating  the  chronological  order  of  events,  it 
may  be  well  to  notice  several  of  the  revivals  con- 
nected with  the  schools  in  a  continuous  series. 

In  1821,  there  was  special  seriousness  at  Tilli- 
pally.     Nicholas,  a  native  helper,  came  one  day  to 


CEYLON  MISSION.  153 

Mr.  Poor,  to  ask  how  he  should  converse  with  per- 
sons anxious  for  their  salvation.     His  eld- 

AtTillipally. 

est  sister,  he  thought,  was  trusting-  in 
Christ,  and  he  had  heard  Tappan,  a  boy  only  ten 
years  old,  addressing'  boys  smaller  than  himself  on 
the  subject  of  Christ's  coming-  to  judge  the  world. 
Of  seven  girls  who  called  on  Mr.  Poor,  two  seemed 
to  be  truly  converted.  Iu  August,  three  young  men 
were  received  into  the  church,  and  two  of  them  be- 
came useful  helpers.  Other  young*  men  had  been 
received  previously,  one  of  whom  is  living  to  this 
day,  and  has  ever  maintained  a  Christian  character. 

Early  in  1824,  Mr.  Woodward  saw  that  some  of 
the  boys  at  Tillipally  were  peculiarly  affected  under 
preaching.  Thus  encouraged,  he  appointed  meet- 
ings for  the  afternoon  and  evening.  Next  day, 
being  himself  unwell,  he  sent  for  Mr.  Winslow,  who 
attended  the  evening  meeting-,  and  found  a  large 
room  nearly  filled  with  boys  and  others.  It  was  not 
long  before  all  the  forty  members  of  the  school, 
with  two  or  three  schoolmasters  and  the  domestics 
of  the  family,  were  among  the  inquirers. 

On  Mr.  Winslow's  return  to  Oodooville,  there  was 
a  similar  movement  at  his  station.  The 
preaching  on  the  Lord's  day  drew  tears 
from  many  eyes.  The  same  hallowed  influence  was 
extended  to  Manepy,  Panditeripo,  and  Batticotta. 
Special  meetings  were  held  by  the  brethreu  jointly 
at  different  stations,  and  the  interest  soon  became 


At  the  sta- 
tions. 


154  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

general.  The  quarterly  meeting  of  the  brethren 
at  Oodooville,  was  the  most  interesting  that  had 
been  held  in  the  mission.  "  The  conversation 
through  the  day,"  writes  one  of  the  missionaries, 
"  was  on  the  means  of  promoting  the  work  of  God 
among  ns.  It  was  a  season  of  weeping*  for  joy,  as 
well  as  brokenness  of  heart  for  sin.  The  Redeemer 
was  with  us,  and  his  banner  over  us  was  love."  On 
the  25th  of  February,  there  was  a  general  meeting 
of  the  schoolmasters  and  superintendents  of  schools 
connected  with  the  mission.  All  the  brethren  of 
the  mission  and  Mr.  Knight  of  the  Church  Mission- 
ary Society  attended.  The  schoolmasters  from  Nel- 
lore,  Mr.  Knight's  station,  were  also  present.  In 
all  there  were  seventy  men,  with  many  of  the  older 
boys  in  the  schools.  A  meeting  was  first  held  with 
the  masters,  in  the  veranda  of  the  house,  at  which 
several  of  them  expressed  hope  in  Christ  and  readi- 
ness to  forsake  all  for  Him,  and  about  thirty  testi- 
fied their  belief  in  Christianity  as  the  only  true 
religion.  In  the  afternoon  a  general  meeting  was 
held  in  the  bungalow.  This  was  attended  by  the 
more  thoughtful  lads  from  Tilli pally  and  Pandi- 
teripo,  and  by  both  boys  and  girls  from  the  schools 
at  Manepy.  An  interesting  account  of  the  revival 
at  the  different  stations  was  given  by  Philip  Mat- 
thew, and  those  present  who  were  willing  to  leave 
all  for  Christ  were  called  upon  to  testify  their  pur- 
pose to  do  this.     More  than  sixty  responded.     On 


CEYLON  MISSION.  155 

the  30th  of  March  nearly  all  the  boarding1  children 
in  the  mission,  about  one  hundred  and  seventy,  as- 
sembled at  Manepy,  and  ninety-two  of  them  ex- 
pressed a  hope  in  Christ ;  but  the  evidences  of  con- 
version were  not  in  all  cases  satisfactory. 

As  the  result  of  this  awakening,  forty-one  were 
"fathered  into  the  church  on   the  20th  of 

°  The  result. 

January,  1825,  of  whom  thirty-six  belonged 
to  the  boarding-schools.  The  meeting'  was  in  a 
rude  building  erected  for  the  purpose  in  the  central 
village  of  Santillepay,  and  from  twelve  to  fifteen 
hundred  natives  were  present.  The  Church  Mission- 
ary and  Wesleyan  brethren  were  there.  Thirty- 
three  were  baptized.  The  candidates  stood  in  a 
semicircle  fronting  the  pulpit,  and  came  forward  in 
sections,  each  missionary  taking*  part  in  the  joyful 
service.  The  communicants  were  eighty-two.  At 
the  close  of  the  service,  more  than  a  hundred,  not 
connected  with  the  church,  testified  their  belief  in 
the  Christian  religion,  and  their  purpose  to  embrace 
it.  Some  of  these  were  among  the  hopeful  con- 
verts. The  audience  g'ave  good  attention  till  the 
end,  notwithstanding  the  great  length  of  the  exer- 
cises. 

In  October  there  was  another  religious  awaken- 
ing, preceded  by  an  unusual  spirit  of  prayer  a  second  re- 
in the  mission,  and  there  was  special  seri-  awakening. 
ousness  at  all  the  stations.     The  hopeful  converts 
were  chiefly  from  among  the  boarding  scholars  and 


156  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

schoolmasters.  The  report  of  the  seminary  at  Bat- 
ticotta  speaks  of  three  seasons  of  special  religions 
interest  in  that  institution  during  this  year,  in 
which  those  who  had  been  previously  awakened 
but  had  become  comparatively  thoughtless,  obtained 
more  impressive  views  of  divine  truth,  and  gave 
more  satisfactory  evidence  of  genuine  conversion. 

Another  religious  awakening  occurred  near  the 
a  third  close  of  1830.  It  began  at  the  monthly 
awakening.  concer^  an(j  the  effects  of  it  were  first  seen 
in  the  families  of  the  missionaries.  The  native 
churches  were  all  revived.  The  members  of  the 
church  at  Batticotta  were  moved  to  confession  and 
prayer,  and  to  labor  for  those  around  them.  The 
studies  of  the  seminary  were  nearly  suspended  for  a 
time,  and  it  was  cheering  to  behold  the  little  rooms 
for  prayer  in  the  Seminary  building  lighted  up  till 
a  late  hour  in  the  evening.  At  a  stated  quarterly 
meeting,  more  than  one  hundred  teachers  and  su- 
perintendents were  present,  besides  the  members  of 
the  Seminary.  The  interest  was  thus  extended,  and 
there  were  tokens  of  the  divine  presence  at  all  the 
stations,  but  especially  in  the  boarding-schools  at 
Tillipally  and  Oodooville.  In  November  a  meeting 
of  all  who  could  read  in  the  free  schools  was  held 
at  Oodooville.  At  least  eight  hundred  were  present, 
and  there  was  evidence  that  considerable  progress 
had  been  made  in  the  knowledge  and  belief  of 
Christianity. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  157 

Thirty-four  were  received  into  the  church  in 
April  of  the  year  1831,  as  the  fruit  of  this  awaken- 
ing. Of  these,  eighteen  were  members  of  the  semi- 
nary, four  belonged  to  the  preparatory  school,  two 
to  the  boarding-school  for  girls,  seven  were  school- 
masters, and  three  were  women  not  connected  with 
the  schools.  This  reception  of  converts  was  at 
Oodooville,  and  Mr.  Winslow  thus  describes  it :  — 

"The  candidates,  standing  in  a  semicircle  in  front 
of  the   pulpit,  gave  their  assent  to  the  articles  of 
faith  ;  and  then  all  advancing,  one  by  one,  kneeled, 
and  received  baptism.     After  this  they  entered  into 
covenant  with  the  church,  and  the  members,  rising, 
entered   into  covenant  with   them."      In  the  July 
following,  twenty-seven    others   were   received,  in- 
cluding the  two  oldest  children  of  the  mission.    Ten 
were  from  the  seminary,  and  eight  were  schoolmas- 
ters, the  ages  varying  from   twelve  to  sixty.     The 
number  added  to  the  church  as  a  consequence  of 
this  revival,  was    sixty-one.     Of  the    two   hundred 
and  four  who  had  been  admitted  to  Christian  com- 
munion  since  the   commencement  of  the   mission, 
one  hundred  and  seventeen  were  boarding  scholars, 
thirty  were  schoolmasters   and    superintendents  of 
schools,  and  fifty  were  villagers.     Thirty  were  more 
than  forty  years  of  age,  thirteen  were  over  fifty,  one 
was  above  seventy,  and  one  over  eighty.     In  March, 
1832,  twenty-two  were  received  as  church  members, 
very  much  in  the  proportions  already  stated.     The 


158  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

seminary  had  then  more  than  fifty  pupils,  who  were 
in  good  standing  as  church  members. 

Still  another  season  of  refreshing  was  enjoyed  at 
the  close  of  1834.     The  majority  of  the 

Still  another. 

students  at  Batticotta  were  more  or  less 
affected,  and  the  influence  extended  to  the  seminary 
at  Oodooville  and  then  to  the  other  stations,  at  all 
of  which  protracted  meetings  were  held.  The  effect 
of  these  was  very  salutary.  An  impression  was 
made  on  some  hundreds  in  the  native  free  schools. 
Among  those  received  into  the  church  from  the 
Seminary  was  Breckenridge,  since  favorably  known 
as  principal  of  the  Native  English  High  School. 
The  accessions  to  the  church  as  a  consequence  of 
this  revival,  were  sixty-seven.1 

The  reader  will  have  noticed,  in  these  brief  de- 
scriptions of  the  visitations  of  divine  grace  previous 
The  board-  to  1835,  that  the  favoring  circumstances  of 
anVuxiiiary.  the  boarding-schools  were  powerful  aux- 
iliaries to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  conse- 
quently the  revivals  stand  connected  both  with 
preaching  and  with  education  as  instrumental 
causes.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  special  attention, 
that  no  general  and  vigorous  opposition  appears  to 
have  been  aroused  among  the  heathen  parents  and 
friends  of  the  pupils  in  the  schools  during  these 
revivals. 

1  See  an  interesting  account  by  Mr.  Poor  in  the  Missionary  Herald 
for  1835,  pp.  285-290;  also,  1836,  pp.  85-88,  and  140. 


Gabriel  Tis- 
sera. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  159 

Returning-  from  this  digression  we  resume  the 
narrative  of  events  in  their  proper  order.  0rd!natl  n, 
Dr.  Scudder  received  ordination  in  the  Dr" Sc,,dder- 
Wesleyan  chapel  at  Jaffnapatam  in  May,  1821,  and 
Mr.  Chater  a  Baptist  missionary  and  Mr.  Roberts  a 
Wesleyan  missionary,  united  with  their  American 
brethren  in  the  ordaining  services.     In  the  v  K 

O  Native 

same  year,  Gabriel  Tissera,  Francis  Mai-  preachers- 
leappa,  and  Nicholas  Permandcr,  native  converts  who 
had  pursued  a  course  of  study  preparatory  to  the 
ministry,  were  licensed  as  preachers  of  the  Gospel. 
Gabriel  was  the  first  convert  received  into 
the  church.  His  talents  were  of  a  supe- 
rior order,  and  he  had  an  ardent  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge. His  remarkable  command  of  the  English 
language  was  shown  in  a  long  letter  to  the  Cor- 
responding Secretary  of  the  Board,  and  in  a  still 
longer  and  beautifully  written  journal,  which  were 
published  at  the  time.1  His  exhortations  in  relig- 
ious meetings  were  earnest,  and  he  was  acceptable 
as  a  leader  in  all  departments  of  social  worship.  He 
died  rather  suddenly  on  the  9th  of  February,  1838, 
and  his  loss  was  deeply  felt.     Francis  Mai-  _      .  „  , 

1    J  l'raucis  Mal- 

leappa  was  a  native  of  Malabar,  the  son  of  le;'ppa' 
a  native  preacher  supported  by  the  government  at 
Negombo,  and  born  about  the  year  1800.     He  was 
one  or  two  years  in  the  government  school  at  Jaff- 

1  Missionary  Herald  for  1820,  pp.  138-142  ;  and  Report  of  the  Board 
for  1823,  pp.  147-172. 


160  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

napatam,  under  the  care  of  Mr.  David,  and  was  six 
months  in  a  school  taught  by  American  missionaries 
while  detained  at  Colombo.  He  served  as  inter- 
preter at  Tillipally,  had  much  facility  in  addressing 
the  people,  and  delighted  in  preaching.  Nicholas  * 
Nicholas  Permander  was  spoken  of  in  1820  as  ad-, 
Permander.  mitted  to  the  church  in  the  presence  of 
four  hundred  natives.  He  rendered  valuable  service 
to  the  mission  as  schoolmaster,  catechist,  and  gen- 
eral assistant,  but  withdrew  from  it  in  1827,  in  the 
hope  of  obtaining  higher  wages  in  the  service  of 
the  government.  For  this  reason  his  license  as  a 
preacher  was  revoked. 

In  April,  1822,  Nathaniel  Niles  and  Jordan  Lodge 
were  received  into  the  church,  and  in 
August,  Ebenezer  Porter,  Whelpley,  and 
Valen,  the  last  a  slave  of  the  Covia  caste,  who  re- 
ceived the  Christian  name  of  Onesimus. 

About  this  time  a  marriage  occurred  which  was 
Aninfluen-    an  inroad  upon  ancient  customs,  and  a  bold 

tial  mar-  ....  n       ,  ,  n  ,  4 

riage.  violation  ot  the  laws  ot  caste.     A  young 

man  of  heathen  parentage,  who  lived  much  in  the 
family  of  Mr.  Richards,  had  recently  been  admitted 
to  the  church.  He  was  known  in  the  mission  by 
the  name  of  Daniel  Smead,  and  was  nineteen  years 
of  age.  Certain  gross  vices  to  which  he  was  ad- 
dicted when  he  first  came  to  live  in  the  mission 
were  abandoned,  and  not  long  after  he  gave  evidence 
of  conversion.     Though  of  the  Vellale  caste,  he  de- 


other  assis 

tants. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  161 

termined  to  marry  an  educated  Christian  woman  of 
a  comparatively  low  caste,  and  with  scarcely  half  the 
dowry  he  might  receive  with  a  heathen  wife.  She 
had  received  the  name  of  Miranda  Safford,  and  was 
one  of  the  most  advanced  scholars  in  the  school. 
In  direct  opposition  to  the  popular  sentiment,  he 
assigned  her  good  education  as  a  reason  for  his 
choice.  But  his  most  offensive  innovation  was  eat- 
ing at  the  same  table  with  his  wife.  Even  the 
Roman  Catholics  had  not  ventured  on  such  a  depar- 
ture from  the  customs  of  the  country.  The  imme- 
diate effect  was  so  favorable,  that  three  girls  of  high 
caste  from  the  village  where  Miranda  lived,  applied 
for  admission  to  the  school.1 

Mr.  Richards,  after  lingering  about  five  years  with 
a  pulmonary    disease,  died    on    the    3d    of 

1  J  '  Death  and 

August,  1822,  at  the  age  of  thirty-eight.  j^K-clf.^ 
It  is  believed  that  he  was  the  first,  after  ards' 
Samuel  J.  Mills  his  classmate  in  Williams  College, 
to  dedicate  himself  to  the  work  of  Foreign  Missions. 
At  the  Seminary  in  Andover  he  labored  with  Mills 
and  several  others,  in  promoting  the  spirit  of  mis- 
sions among*  the  students,  and  by  the  distribution 
of  books  in  the  community.  The  reason  why  his 
name  did  not  appear  in  the  memorial  presented  to 
the  General  Association  was,  that  four  were  thonght 
a  sufficient  number  to  be  presented  in  the  first  in- 
stance as  devoted  to  foreign  missions,  and  the  others, 

1  Tracy's  History  of  the  Missions  of  the  Board,  \>.  116. 
11 


162  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

being  his  seniors  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  would 
be  sooner  prepared  to  leave  their  country.  He  spent 
nearly  two  years  in  the  Medical  School  at  Philadel- 
phia. Declining  a  call  to  settle  as  pastor  of  a  peo- 
ple, who  had  been  divided  but  were  united  under  his 
ministry,  he  married  Miss  Sarah  Bardwell  of  Goshen, 
Massachusetts,  and  embarked  for  Ceylon.  The  fail- 
ure of  his  health,  and  his  consequent  visit  to  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  1818  with  Mr.  Warren,  have 
been  already  mentioned.  After  the  departure  of  this 
brother  to  a  better  world  he  returned  to  Ceylon,  and 
to  the  surprise  of  all  labored  on  till  June,  1822,  when 
his  last  illness  commenced.  His  sufferings  were 
often  very  severe,  but  they  roused  the  faculties  of 
his  soul  to  vigorous  exertion.  The  Lord  was  pleased 
to  manifest  himself  as  a  being  every  way  worthy  of 
supreme  affection.  So  desirable  did  it  appear  to  him 
that  God  should  be  glorified  by  all  his  creatures, 
that  he  was  willing  his  suffering's  should  be  con- 
tinued and  even  increased,  if  that  were  necessary  to 
promote  the  designs  of  his  Heavenly  Father;  and 
since  his  sufferings  were  the  means  of  revealing  to 
him  such  views  of  God,  he  regarded  them  as  a 
proper  occasion  for  thanksgiving.  Certainly  his  ex- 
perience was  a  means  of  good  to  his  brethren  of  the 
mission,  and  to  the  native  Christians  around  him. 
"  The  pains,  the  groans,  the  dying  strife,"  are  de- 
scriptive of  his  last  days.  They  were  filled  also  with 
the  triumphs  of  faith,  and  the  end,  as   he  saw  it 


CEYLON  MISSION.  163 

approaching,  was  welcomed  with  holy  joy.  Among 
his  last  words  were,  "  I  still  feel  that  I  see  through 
a  glass  darkly,  but  very  soon  lace  to  lace!"  Those 
around  his  bed,  when  they  saw  that  he  was  gone, 
united  in  a  hymn  and  a  prayer  expressive  of  their 
mingled  emotions  of  joy  and  grief.1 

Early  in  the  year  1823   Mr.  Poor  was   married 
to  Miss  Knight,  a  sister  of  Mr.   Knight,  „    .      , 

o       >  o       '    Marriage  of 

Church  missionary  at  Nellore.    The  friendly  Mr  Poor- 
attentions  of  the  Church  missionaries  had  been  spe- 
cially marked  and  encouraging  during  the  interdict 
placed  on  the  mission  by  Sir  Edward  Barnes. 

Slavery,  as  it  then  existed  among  the  natives,  was 
a  great  barrier  to  social  intercourse.     At  „ 

°  Slavery  in 

the  commencement  of  the  mission,  one  JalTna 
slave  might  have  as  many  as  fifty  masters.  Slaves 
were  the  property  of  families,  rather  than  of  indi- 
viduals. If  a  man  needed  the  assistance  of  his 
slaves  he  supported  them  while  thus  employed, 
which  was  often  but  a  few  days,  and  then  dismissed 
them  leaving"  them  to  provide  for  themselves.  Some 
slaves  were  employed  but  little  by  their  masters.  In 
the  year  1818,  Governor  Brown rigg  had  taken  meas- 
ures for  having  all  the  slaves  in  the  district  divided 
and  registered,  so  that  each  should  have  but  one 
master.  He  also  made  the  humane  regulation,  that 
if  a  slave  wished  to  be  free  and  would  apply  to  the 

1  See  Memoir  of  Mr.  Richards,  Missionary  Herald,  1823,  pp.  241- 
246,  and  1824,  pp.  233-236. 


164  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

provincial  court,  he  should  be  appraised  by  five  men, 
two  appointed  by  the  owner,  two  by  the  slave  him- 
self, and  one  by  the  government,  and  if  the  slave 
should  pay  the  sum  at  which  he  was  valued,  with  ten 
dollars  more  for  stamp  duties,  he  should  be  freed. 
In  this  way  Cornelius  and  Danvers,  promising  broth- 
ers in  the  boarding'-school,  were  freed,  to  their  great 
joy,  by  Mr.  Poor.  The  former  was  valued  at  twenty- 
two  dollars,  and  the  latter  at  eighteen. 

Public  worship  was  now  regularly  attended  at  the 
Attendance  stations  every  Sabbath,  at  which  the  mis- 
worship,  sion  families,  domestics,  school-boys,  and 
other  natives  attended.  The  average  attendance  at 
Tillipally  was  about  three  hundred,  the  greater  part 
of  whom  were  children.  Prayers  were  offered  in  the 
church  morning  and  evening  through  the  week,  with 
•reading  of  the  Scriptures,  at  which  the  pupils  of  the 
schools  were  present.  Dependence  on  interpreters 
gradually  ceased.  It  is  said  of  Messrs.  Winslow 
and  Woodward,  as  it  had  been  of  Messrs.  Poor  and 
Meigs,  that  they  preached  in  Tamil  in  less  than  a 
year  after  they  became  settled  on  mission  ground. 

The  widow  of  Mr.  Richards  had  been  married  to 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Knight,  but  on  the  26th  of 
April,  1825,  she  died  ;  and  Mrs.  Woodward 
followed  her  on  the  24th  of  November. 

There  were  sixty-seven  students  in  the  Batticotta 
Flourishing    Seminary  in  1827,  of  whom  somewhat  more 

condition  of  -»/r        t» 

the  schools,    than  half  were  church  members.    Mr.  Poor 


CEYLON  MISSION.  1G5 

was  aided  in  the  Seminar)7  by  Gabriel  Tissera  and 
ten  other  natives.  Of  free  schools  there  were  ninety- 
three,  containing-  3,378  boys  and  942  girls,  and  the 
attendants  at  public  worship  on  Sabbath  mornings 
were  about  two  thousand.  The  whole  number  in  all 
the  schools,  at  the  close  of  this  year,  was  4,500. 

Twelve  years  had  wrought  a  great  change  in  the 
Jaffna  schools.  A  class  of  fifteen  graduated  from 
the  Batticotta  Seminary  in  1828,  and  there  were 
not  less  than  two  hundred  applicants  for  admis- 
sion to  the  new  class,  whose  claims  were  urged  by 
relatives  and  friends,  but  only  twenty  nine  could  be 
received.  The  whole  number  under  instruction  in 
the  mission  in  1829,  was  3,436. 

The  improved  system  of  education  was  attracting 
the  attention  of  all  classes  of  men.     The  Bearing  of 

education  on 

Seminary  especial  I  v  was   made  to  bear  on   tii.in.i, 

miiiic  philos- 

the  question,  whether  the  popular  idolatry  °Phv 
was  true.  The  systems  of  geography  and  astronomy 
taught  by  the  brahmins  are  parts  of  their  religious 
system,  and  as  such  claimed  infallibility,  and  if  over- 
thrown it  would  seem  that  the  whole  must  fall.  The 
brahmin  cannot  admit  that  the  earth  is  a  sphere,  or 
that  it  moves,  and  a  slight  knowledge  of  geography 
shows  that  many  of  the  mountains  and  seas  men- 
tioned in  the  histories  of  their  gods,  have  no  ex- 
istence. Eclipses  are  said  to  be  caused  by  two 
monsters,  sometimes  called  serpents,  who  attempt  to 
devour  the  sun  and  moon.     These  were  perhaps  in- 


1GG  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA 

tended,  originally,  as  emblems  of  the  ascending-  and 
descending1  nodes,  called,  even  in  some  of  our  alma- 
nacs, the  "  dragon's  head  "  and  "  dragon's  tail,"  near 
which  alone  eclipses  can  take  place ;  but  modern 
brahmins  teach,  that  they  are  actual  serpents  or 
monsters,  and  when  an  eclipse  occurs  the  people  call 
earnestly  upon  the  gods  to  deliver  the  endangered 
luminary.  Still,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  their 
learned  men  can  calculate  the  time  when  it  will 
please  Rahoo,  one  of  the  monsters,  to  seize  the 
moon,  how  much  of  it  will  come  within  his  grasp, 
and  how  long  the  struggle  will  continue. 

Vesuvenather,  whose  ancestors  had  been  astron- 
omers for  nine  generations,  and  who  was  the  most 
learned  native  astronomer  in  the  region,  had  pub- 
lished his  annual  almanac,  in  which  he  predicted  an 
eclipse  of  the  moon  on  the  21st  of  March,  at  twenty- 
four  minutes  past  six  P.  m.,  which  would  obscure 
five  eighths  of  the  moon's  disc.  According  to  calcu- 
lations at  the  Seminary  it  was  to  commence  at  nine 
minutes  past  six,  and  to  obscure  only  three  eighths 
of  the  disc.  There  was  also  a  difference  of  twenty- 
four  minutes  in  the  predicted  duration  of  the  eclipse. 
Hearing  of  the  difference  Vesuvenather,  assisted  by 
his  brethren,  carefully  reviewed  his  calculations  and 
reaffirmed  their  correctness.  As  the  time  drew  near, 
a  leading  brahmin  grew  deeply  interested  in  the 
affair,  and  ran  from  place  to  place  calling  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people  to  the  decisive  evidence  about  to 


CEYLON  MISSION.  167 

be  given  of  the  superiority  of  their  religion  over 
Christianity.  The  evening  came.  At  six  o'clock 
Mr.  Poor  and  his  students  and  the  Pandarum  1  and 
his  friends  were  all  assembled.  The  telescope  was 
ready,  and  the  nicely  regulated  watch.  They  turned 
to  the  east,  but  a  small  cloud  was  rising  which 
threatened  to  conceal  the  object  of  their  anxiety. 
At  nine  miuutes  past  six  the  cloud  was  still  there. 
In  another  minute  the  moon  appeared.  A  small 
spot  was  visible  on  her  northeastern  limb,  but  "  it 
was  the  cloud,  certainly  it  was  the  cloud."  In  two 
minutes  more  the  cloud  was  gone,  but  the  spot  had 
grown  and  the  eclipse  had  certainly  begun.  The 
Pandarum  was  silent  for  a  while,  and  then  began  to 
abuse  the  native  astronomers  for  "  imposing  upon 
the  people."  Mr.  Poor  defended  his  acquaintance 
Vesuvenather,  on  the  ground,  which  a  believer  in  the 
infallibility  of  their  system  could  not  admit,  that 
even  the  most  learned  men  are  liable  to  mistakes. 
He  then  led  the  way  to  his  school-room,  and  deliv- 
ered a  lecture  on  eclipses.  By  means  of  an  orrery, 
putting  a  lamp  in  the  place  of  the  sun,  he  showed 
them  the  heavenly  bodies  as  they  had  seen  them  at 
sunset,  and  then  extinguishing  all  the  lamps  but 
that  which  represented  the  sun  they  saw  how  the 
shadow  of  the  earth  eclipsed  the  moon.  The  Pan- 
darum himself  was  gratified,  and  the  company  gen- 
erally expressed   their   delight   at   seeing   the   two 

1  Priest  of  the  Temple- 


168  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

great  serpents  changed  into  two  shadows,  that  of 
the  moon  and  that  of  the  earth. 

But,  after  all,  might  not  the  time-pieces  be  wrong 
anil  the  native  astronomers  right  ?  Two  other  tests 
remained,  the  magnitude  and  the  duration  of  the 
eclipse.  These  were  watched  with  intense  interest, 
but  it  was  certain  that  less  than  half  of  the  moon 
was  obscured,  and  that  the  duration  was  just  what 
had  been  predicted  at  the  Seminary.  The  Hindu 
system  was  seen  to  be  incorrect.  There  could  be  no 
doubt  about  it,  and  there  were  great  reasonings 
among  them  as  to  what  would  be  the  result.  A 
perplexity  of  few  days  afterwards  Dashiel,  one  of  the 
min.  students  at  the  Seminary,  called  on  Vesu- 

venather.  The  old  man  brought  forward  an  ancient 
book,  which  he  said  was  written  more  than  two  hun- 
dred years  ago,  and  which  contained  the  true  theory 
of  eclipses.  He  said  he  had  long  been  acquainted 
with  that  theory,  and  knew  it  to  be  the  true  one. 
Being  asked  why  he  did  not  make  it  known  to  the 
people,  and  especially  to  the  learned  in  the  district, 
he  replied  that  "  the  people  would  not  believe  it,  nor 
could  they  be  made  readily  to  understand  it." 

Does  the  reader  ask,  what  was  the  result  of  all 
this?     Not  a  single  instance  of  conversion, 

The  result.  . 

for  astronomical  truth  cannot  change  the 
heart;  but  the  learned  were  compelled  to  regard  and 
treat  the  Seminary  and  the  mission  with  more  re- 
spect than  formerly.     The  words  of  the  missionaries 


CEYLON  MISSION.  1G9 

had  more  weight  with  people  of  every  class ;  their 
preaching  had  better  access  to  the  minds  of  men; 
the  confidence  of  the  people  in  the  brahmins  was 
also  weakened ;  and  in  every  way  the  influence  was 
favorable  to  the  dissemination  and  candid  reception 
of  that  truth,  by  which  the  heart  is  changed.1 

The    government    commissioners   for   inspecting 
schools  visited  the  Seminary  at  Batticotta  Popularity 

of  the  higher 

in  September,  1830,  and  bore  most  decided  schools, 
testimony  in  its  favor,  and  one  of  them  placed 
twenty  pounds  in  the  hands  of  the  Principal  to  be 
distributed  in  prizes  for  the  best  translations  of  use- 
ful essays  into  English.  About  the  same  time,  an 
application  was  received  from  a  missionary  of  the 
English  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel,  residing 
at  Trichinopoly,  for  fifteen  pupils  to  be  employed  as 
catechists  among  the  Tamil  people  on  the  continent. 
Also,  as  soon  as  it  became  known  that  there  were 
twelve  vacancies  in  the  girls'  school  at  Oodooville, 
there  were  not  less  than  seventy  applicants  for  ad- 
mission. 

The  mission  buildings  at  Manepy  were  con- 
sumed by  fire  in  March,  1831.  They  were  a  Adestruc_ 
dwelling-house,  church,  study,  and  a  large  tlTe  re' 
bungalow.  Being  thatched  with  leaves,  the  confla- 
gration was  exceedingly  rapid,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Woodward,  though  aided  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Roberts, 
Wesleyau  missionaries  who  happened  to  be  present, 

1  Mr.  Tracy's  History  of  the  Board,  p.  216. 


170  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

were  able  to  save  scarcely  any  of  their  effects.  The 
loss,  including  private  property,  was  estimated  at 
between  three  and  four  thousand  dollars.  The  hea- 
then exulted,  as  if  it  were  a  victory  of  their  god 
Ganesa,  whose  temple  formerly  stood  on  the  mission 
premises,  over  the  God  of  the  Christians.  But  the 
a  large-         house  of  worship  was  rebuilt  in  six  months. 

hearted 

bishop.  Bishop  Turner  of  Calcutta  was  there  a  few 

days  after  the  fire,  and  subsequently  obtained  a  thou- 
sand rupees  at  Madras,  and  almost  twice  that  sum 
at  Bombay.  If  the  like  benevolent  effort  was  not 
repeated  by  him  at  Calcutta,  it  was  because  the  ex- 
cellent prelate  was  called  to  rest  from  his  labors  soon 
after  returning  to  that  city.  The  annual  Report  of 
the  Board  mentions  others,  who  were  specially  active 
in  collecting  money  to  repair  the  loss. 

Bishop  Turner  devoted  a  day  to  an  examination 
of  the  Seminary  at  Batticotta,  together  with  the 
preparatory  and  female  central  schools,  both  of 
which  were  assembled  for  the  purpose.  He  ex- 
pressed the  gratification  he  felt  on  the  occasion,  and 
assured  the  students  of  his  readiness  to  cooperate 
with  the  conductors  of  the  Seminary.  He  also  de- 
clared to  the  members  of  the  mission  his  full  con- 
currence in  their  plans  of  procedure.  The  brethren 
were  strongly  reminded,  by  what  they  saw  of  this 
prelate,  of  the  description  of  true  bishops  drawn  by 
the  pen  of  inspiration.  His  decease  took  place  at 
Calcutta  on  the  7th  of  July  following. 


mo- 
tion from 
the  mission. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  171 

In  the   year   1832,  Sir  Robert  Wilmot   Horton, 
having:   succeeded  Sir  Edward  Barues   as  „  _  .   . 

O  Sir  Robert 

Governor  of  Ceylon,  granted  official  leave  EfSSS 
for  missionaries  to  be  sent  from  America  tioVfr 
until  reference  could  be  made  to  England ; 
and  Lord  Goderich,  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Col- 
onies, appears  to  have  lost  no  time  in  giving*  the 
assent  of  the  Government.  Accordingly  Messrs. 
George  H.  Anthorp,  William  Todd,  Samuel  Reinforee- 

°  l  L  '  '  ment  of  the 

Hutchings,  Henry    R.  Hoisington,  James  mission. 
R.  Eckard,  Nathan  Ward,  M.  D.,  and  Eastman  S. 
Minor,  were  on  their  way  in  1833.     Mr.  Ward  was 
a  physician,  and  Mr.  Minor  a  printer. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  TAMIL  PEOPLE. 
CEYLON  MISSION. 

1832-1853. 

Thirty-eight,  or  nearly  half,  of  the  scholars  in 
„  M  u       the  Batticotta  Seminary  were  church  mem- 

Batticotta  •> 

seminary.  berg  at  the  opening  0f  the  year  1832,  and 
the  weight  of  character  and  influence  in  the  insti- 
tution was  decidedly  Christian. 

Mrs.  Harriet  Lathrop  Winslow  died  January  13, 
Death  of       1833,  about  three  months  after  hearing-  of 

Mrs.  Wins- 
low,  the  decease  of  an  only  and  promising  son 

in  the  United  States.     During  the  three  hours  of 

her  sickness  she  was  unable  to  speak,  but  not  a  word 

was  needed  to  assure  her  surviving  friends  of  the 

blessedness    of  the    change,  which   thus    suddenly 

came  upon  her.     Her  missionary  life,  commenced  in 

1819,  had  been  a  continual  series  of  diligent,  active, 

useful  labors  in  the  cause  of  her  Redeemer.      Three 

of  her  sisters  afterwards   joined   the  mission,  and 

two  of  them  died  in  Ceylon,  and  rest  with  her  in 

the  pleasant  repository  for  the  missionary  dead  at 

Oodooville.1 

1  A  Memoir  of  Mrs.  Winslow,  prepared  by  her  husband,  was  pub- 


CEYLON  MISSION.  173 

After  this,  Mr.  Winslow  made  a  visit  to  the 
United  States,  bringing  with  him  his  three  Childrenof 
children,  and  seven  other  children  from  mlss,onanes 
different  families  in  the  mission.  Much  interest 
was  taken  in  this  little  company,  and  all  readily 
found  guardians  and  homes.  Mr.  Spaulding  now 
removed  to  Oodooville,  Mr.  Meigs  to  Tillipally,  and 
Mr.  Woodward  to  Batticotta.  Dr.  Scudder  com- 
menced a  station  in  the  eastern  section  of  the  dis- 
trict. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Woodward  were  obliged  to  re- 
pair for  health  to  the  Neilgherry  Hills  on   sickness  and 

death  of  Mr. 

the  continent.  Lord  William  Bentinck,  woodward. 
Governor-general  of  India,  and  Sir  Frederick  Adam, 
Governor  of  Madras,  being  there,  he  obtained  leave 
for  a  mission  in  the  Presidency  of  Madras.  Mr. 
Spaulding  had  already  made  the  needful  explorations 
preparatory  to  such  a  mission.  Mr.  Woodward  per- 
ceiving his  strength  to  be  rapidly  failing,  set  his 
face  toward  Jaffna  hoping  to  reach  Madura.  He 
was  able  to  go  no  farther  than  Coimbatoor,  near  the 
foot  of  the  mountains,  and  there,  in  the  hospita- 
ble family  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Addis  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society,  he  was  taken  to  his  heavenly  home. 
He  died  on  the  3d  of  August,  1834,  iu  the  thirty- 
eighth  year  of  his  age,  having  been  a  member  of 
the  mission  somewhat  more  than  fourteen  years. 
His  body  was  deposited  in  the  burying  ground  at- 

lished  in  this  country  by  the  American  Tract  Society  not  long  after 
her  decease,  and  republished  iu  England.    16mo,  pp.  480. 


174  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

tached  to  the  mission  chapel.  Mr.  Spanieling  ar- 
rived in  a  few  days  from  Madura,  and  accompanied 
the  bereaved  widow  to  Jaffna. 

Mr.  Woodward  was  a  good  missionary,  though 
often  embarrassed  by  illness.  His  first  wife  died  in 
November,  1825.  His  second  was  the  widow  of  Mr. 
Frost,  who  with  commendable  zeal  resolved  to  con- 
tinue her  mission  in  India;  as  was  stated  in  the  his- 
Mrs  wood-  ^ory  °f  ^ne  Mahratta  mission.  The  death 
ward-  of  Mr.  Woodward  did  not  shake  her  pur- 

pose, and  she  remained  in  the  Ceylon  mission, 
though  with  the  care  of  three  fatherless  children. 
In  December,  1836,  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Todd, 
and  removed  to  Madura,  where  she  died  in  June, 
1837. 

One  of  the  later  communications  of  Mr.  Wood- 
Gospeibe-  ward  contained  a  striking  illustration  of 
lustrated.  the  benevolent  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  as  con- 
trasted with  the  hard-heartedness  of  heathenism. 
While  the  throng  of  worshippers  of  Ganesa  were 
engaged  in  getting  rice  for  an  offering,  oue  of  them 
in  drawing  water  fell  into  the  well.  As  soon  as  they 
heard  of  it,  the  priest  of  the  temple  and  the  crowd 
rushed  to  the  spot,  and,  after  gratifying  their  curi- 
osity, returned  ;  not  one  of  them  showing  the  least 
concern  for  the  man,  who  was  then  struggling  in 
the  water.  They  chatted  about  him,  but  no  one 
seemed  to  think  that  assistance  ought  to  be  ren- 
dered.    One  of  the  head  men  came  at  length  to  the 


CEYLON  MISSION.  175 

spot,  and  exerted  all  his  influence  to  induce  some 
one  to  dive  into  the  water,  which  any  person  accus- 
tomed to  swimming'  might  have  done  with  perfect 
safety,  but  his  efforts  were  in  vain.  He  sent  for  the 
priest,  who  was  known  to  be  an  expert  swimmer, 
but  he  excused  himself,  saying  that  he  could  not  be 
absent  so  long  from  the  duties  of  the  temple.  Just 
at  this  moment  an  unknown  man  arrived,  and,  as 
soon  as  he  learned  that  a  fellow-being  was  drown- 
ing, threw  aside  his  garment,  and  leaped  into  the 
well.  After  repeatedly  diving,  he  recovered  the 
body.  When  the  noise  had  subsided,  a  whisper 
passed  through  the  crowd,  "  Who  is  that  good 
man  P  "  and  the  idolaters  were  not  a  little  con- 
founded, when  told  that  it  was  Azel  Backus,  a 
Christian.  Mr.  Woodward  regarded  this  event  as 
having  done  not  a  little  toward  stopping  the 
mouths  of  some,  who  were  arrayed  against  Chris- 
tians. 

Messrs.  Todd  and  Minor  joined  the  mission  in 
1834,  and  Messrs.  Perry  and  Lawrence  in  the  fol- 
lowing year.     They  were  married  men. 

In  the  summer  of  this  year  the  church  aud  school- 
house  at  Tillipally  were  destroyed  by  fire,  Adest 
set,   as   was    believed,    by   an    inceudiary.  t,vefire 
Nearly  all  the  Tamil  books  and  tracts  belonging  to 
the  station  were  consumed. 

The  demand  for  the  services  of  natives  acquainted 
with   English  had  so  increased,  as  to  awaken    the 


176 


MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 


fear,  that  few  who  were  educated  in  both  Tamil 
conse-  and   English  would  resist   the  temptation 

queuces  of 

teaching  the   to  leave  the  mission  for  the  sake  of  greater 

English  Ian-  ° 

guage.  wages  than  it  could  afford  to  pay.    To  avoid 

this,  it  was  proposed  to  instruct  a  large  proportion 
of  those  who  should  he  admitted  into  the  Seminary 
in  Tamil  only.  A  class  of  twenty-two  was  admitted 
on  this  plan  in  February,  1834,  but  years  elapsed 
before  the  mission  was  able  to  check  this  evil.  The 
reasons  for  teaching  the  English  language  are  stated 
in  a  letter  from  the  instructors  of  the  seminary, 
published  in  the  "  Missionary  Herald  "  for  1836. 

The  following  is  a  tabular  view  of  the  schools  at 
the  close  of  the  year  1835 :  — 


Free 

Schools. 

Boys. 

Girls. 

Prepara- 
tory 
school. 

Totals. 

Tillipally 

30 

1,500 

156 

1,656 

Batticotta    . 

29 

1,005 

157 

37 

1,199 

Oodooville 

15 

340 

137 

477 

Panditeripo 

14 

448 

58 

506 

Manepy  . 

18 

402 

279 

681 

Chavagacherry    . 

32 

862 

227 

1,089 

Varany  . 

7 

175 

15 

190 

145 

4,732 

1,029 

37 

5,798 

The  seminary  contained  one  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  members,  not  including  thirty-seven  in  the 
preparatory  school.  A  fifth  class  of  forty  pupils  had 
been  received  in  October,  and  the  prospects  of  the 
institution  were  never  more  encourasrinar.     The  in- 


CEYLON  MISSION.  177 

structors  were  Mr.  Poor,  the  Principal,  and  teacher 
in  astronomy  and  the  higher  branches  of  mathe- 
matics; Mr.  Hoisington,  teacher  in  the  English 
language;  Dr.  Ward,  teacher  in  natural  philosophy 
and  medicine;  Nicholas,  Maityn,  Warren,  Hassle- 
ton,  and  Volk,  teachers  of  the  native  classics ; 
Dashiel,  teacher  of  Sanskrit,  native  arithmetic,  and 
astronomy  ;  Ropes,  medical  assistant ;  and  White, 
teacher  of  the  preparatory  school.  The  central 
boarding-school  for  girls  at  Oodooville  was  under 
the  care  of  Mr.  Spaulding,  Mrs.  Spaulding,  and 
Mrs.  Hutchings.  There  was  also  an  infant  school 
at  Batticotta  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  pupils, 
which  had  been  established  by  Mrs.  Eckard,  and 
was  then  under  the  superintendence  of  Mrs.  Ward, 
aided  by  two  seminarists. 

At  the  close  of  1835,  Mr.  Poor,  with  the  approba- 
tion of  his  brethren,  resigned  his  station  Mr  poor 
as   principal   of    the    Batticotta    Seminary  fZ'iJ-l' 

.     .11  n  i  •  .       ,i  season. 

that  he  might  labor  for  a  time  in  the  new 
mission  on  the  continent.     The  seminary  now  came 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Hoising-  succeeded 

by  Mr.  Hois- 

ton,  and  his  scholarly  attainments  and  nab-  >"gton. 
its,  while  he  gave  great  prominence  to  Biblical  in- 
struction, did  much  to  develop  the  desire  for  scien- 
tific knowledge.  None  of  the  missionary  teachers, 
however,  had  the  facility  of  Mr.  Poor  in  the  use  of 
the  native  language,  and  the  strong  tendency  among 
the  students  to  make  English  the  universal  medium 

12 


178  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA 

of  communication  embarrassed  the  new  missionaries 
in  their  efforts  to  acquire  a  free  use  of  the  Tamil. 

The  year  1837,  memorable  for  its  wide-spread 
Disastrous  commercial  distress,  had  such  an  effect  on 
the  schools,  the  receipts  of  the  Board  that  the  Pruden- 
tial Committee,  not  then  fully  experienced  in  such 
matters,  required  the  several  missions  to  make  large 
reductions  in  their  expenditures.  The  facilities  for 
remitting  funds  to  distant  missions  were  by  no 
means  then  what  they  are  now,  and  information  of 
the  embarrassments  when  received  by  the  missiona- 
ries, combined  with  a  delay  in  the  arrival  of  funds, 
was  distressing  in  its  results  beyond  anything  that 
would  be  experienced  now,  or  that  could  then  have 
been  anticipated  by  the  Committee.  One  hundred 
and  seventy-one  free  schools  and  as  many  school- 
masters were  discharged.  The  dismissed  pupils  ex- 
ceeded five  thousand,  and  the  remarks  of  Mr. 
Spaulding  on  parting  with  the  children  were  read 
at  the  time  in  this  country  with  the  most  painful 
interest. 

"  After  my  usual  lessons  with  the  readers  in  the 
Anaffectin  schools  yesterday,"  he  says,  "I  gave  to 
scene.  each  a  portion  of  the  Bible  as  a  present. 

I  told  them  the  reason,  exhorted  them  to  read  it 
and  not  to  enter  into  temptation,  to  keep  the  Sab- 
bath holy,  prayed  with  them,  commending  them  to 
the  Friend  of  little  children,  and  then  sent  them 
away  from  me,  from  the  Bible-class,  from  the  Sab- 


CEYLON  MISSION.  179 

bath-school,  from  the  house  of  prayer,  to  feed  on 
the  mountains  of  heathenism  with  the  idols  under 
the  green  trees,  a  prey  to  the  roaring  lion,  to  evil 
demons,  and  to  a  people  more  ignorant  than  they, 
even  to  their  blind,  deluded,  and  deluding  guides  ; 
and  when  I  looked  after  them  as  they  went  out  my 
heart  failed  me.  What  an  offering  to  Swamy  —  five 
thousand  children  !  " l 

The  letter  giving  the  painful  results  was  written 
by  the  Rev.  John   M.  S.  Perry,  who  had  Deaths  or 

J  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

joined  the  mission  with  his  wife,  Septem-  Peny. 
ber  24,  1835,  and  on  the  13th  of  March,  1837,  only 
ten  days  after  the  date  of  the  letter,  he  was  re- 
moved by  cholera  in  a  very  sudden  manner.  Three 
days  later  he  was  followed  by  Mrs.  Perry,  a  victim 
of  the  same  disease.  She  was  sister  to  the  first 
Mrs.  Winslow,  and  one  of  three  sisters  whose  bodies 
rest  among  the  native  churches  of  Jaffna. 

The  Seminary  at  Batticotta  had  been  reduced  to 
one    hundred    students    by  turning    away  seasonable 

aid  from  the 

forty-five,  and  eight  girls  were  removed  government 
from  the  Oodooville  school.  The  two  seminaries 
would  have  suffered  greater  reductions  but  for  a 
seasonable  donation  of  a  thousand  dollars  from  the 
government  of  Ceylon.  Indeed  every  department 
of  labor  suffered  more  or  less  under  the  depression, 
and  the  Prudential  Committee,  on  learning  the  re- 
sults, lost  no  time  in  withdrawing  the  restriction, 

i  Annual  Report,  1838,  p.  99. 


180 


MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 


an  act  that  was  soon  indorsed  by  larger  receipts. 
The  mission,  on  receiving  notice  that  the  churches 
had  enabled  the  Committee  to  relieve  them  from 
their  embarrassments,  kept  a  day  of  special  thanks- 
giving. The  government  of  Ceylon  soon  after  made 
a  second  appropriation  for  the  schools  like  the  above. 
But  so  great  a  ruin  could  not  be  repaired  at  once. 
Three  female  teachers  were  added  to  the  mission 
.  .       this  year  in   compliance  with  its  request: 

New  mission-  j  i  i  » 

aries-  namely,    Misses    Eliza    Agnew,    Sarah    F. 

Brown,  and  Jane  E.  Lath r op.     The  health  of  Miss 
Brown  permitted  her  to  remain  but  a  short  time. 

The  admissions  to  the  church  from  August  4, 
Admissions  1816,  to  May  19,  1839,  were  492.  Divid- 
church.  ing  this  period  into  two  nearly  equal  pro- 
portions, some  will  be  interested  to  see  how  the  two 
parts  compare  with  each  other.  This  is  shown  in 
the  following  table  :  — 


Ages. 

First  Period. 

Second  Period. 

20  to  30  years         .... 
40  to  50  years          .... 
60  to  70  years         .... 
80  to  90  years          .... 

68,  or  1-2 
28,  or  1-4 
15,  or  1-8 

6,  or  1-20 

4,  or  1-30 

5 

0 

1 

246,  or  2-3 
67,  or  1-5 
28,  or  1-13 
18,  or  1-20 

5 

1 

0 

0 

127 

365 

The  excommunications  in  the  first  period  were 


CEYLON  MISSION.  181 

nineteen,  and  in  the  second  twenty-four,  all  between 
the  ages  of  ten  and  fifty. 

A  continuous  statistical  history  of  the  schools 
from  year  to  year,  though  necessary  in  sue-  Necessary 

abbrevia- 

cessive  annual  reports,  would  be  out  of  tions. 
place  in  a  history  extending  through  a  series  of 
years.  The  general  reader  will  be  content  with  oc- 
casional summaries,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of 
the  operations  of  the  press,  and  the  additions  to  the 
churches.1 

A  Tamil  Dictionary,  commenced  by  Mr.  Knight 
of  the  Church  mission,  was  continued  after  TamilDic. 
his  death  by  native  assistants  under  the  tlonanes- 
supervision  of  Mr.  Spaulding,  and  published  in  Cey- 
lon early  in  1842.  Mr.  Knight  also  commenced  a 
Tamil  and  English  Dictionary,  and  this  was  com- 
mitted to  Mr.  Hutchings,  who  removed  to  Madras 
mainly  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  it  through  the 
press.  In  addition  to  these  an  English  and  Tamil 
Dictionary  was  prepared  by  Mr.  Spaulding. 

"  By  these  three  dictionaries,"  Mr.  Spaulding 
writes,  "  the  Tamil  language  is  not  only  in  a  great 
measure  settled  in  respect  to  orthography  and  defi- 
nition, but  brought  within  the  reach  of  the  Tamil 
and  English  student  in  our  villages  and  seminaries, 
and  of  those  engaged  in  translations  of  the  Bible, 
book-makers,  and  preachers." 

1  A  Tabular  View  of  the  Missionaries,  and  a  General  Summary  of 
the  Publications,  in  the  several  missions,  may  be  found  in  the  Appen- 
dix. 


182  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

Mr.  Edward  Cope  and  wife  joined  the  mission  in 
1840,  and  in  the  next  year  Mr.  Poor  returned  to 
Jaffna  from  the  Madura  mission,  where  he  had 
labored  five  years.  He  was  received  with  a  cordial 
welcome.  In  April,  1842,  the  mission  was  rein- 
forced by  Messrs.  Samuel  Whittelsey,  Robert  Wy- 
nian,  and  John  C.  Smith,  all  married  men.  Mrs. 
Smith  must  have  carried  with  her  the  seeds  of  con- 
sumption, and  she  died  of  that  disease  at  Batticotta 
on  the  9th  of  May.  In  the  autumn  of  the  next 
year,  Mr.  Smith  married  the  widow  of  Dr.  John 
Steele  of  the  Madura  mission. 

Early  in  the  year  1843  very  painful  developments 
Painful  de-  were  made  by  young  men  connected  with 
iynelt°hemseemi-  the  Seminary.  It  appeared  that  attend- 
ance on  heathen  dances,  the  practice  of 
unnatural  vice,  and  lying  and  deception,  had  become 
prevalent,  and  it  greatly  increased  the  grief  of  the 
missionaries  that  some  of  the  church  members,  and 
many  of  the  select  class,  and  a  portion  of  the  native 
teachers  had  connived  at  these  practices,  and  some 
had  even  taken  a  leading  part  in  them.  The  meas- 
ures adopted  were  prompt  and  efficient.  The  select 
class,  and  sixty-one  from  the  other  classes,  were  sent 
away,  and  the  offending  teachers  were  dismissed.1 
This  severe  discipline  of  course  occasioned  murmur- 
ing at  the  time,  but  was  satisfactory  in  the  end, 
both  in  its  effect  upon  the  young  men,  and  upon  the 

1  Annual  Report,  1844,  p.  17.3. 


Reconstruc- 
tion. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  183 

interests  of  the  mission.  It  increased  the  confidence 
of  the  native  community  in  the  conductors  of  the 
institution. 

Mr.  Hoisington  was  absent  during  this  time  on  a 
visit  to  the  United  States.  He  returned 
in  1844,  bringing  with  him  a  valuable  sci- 
entific apparatus.  The  instruction  was  now  divided 
into  three  departments,  Scientific,  Biblical,  and  Eng- 
lish ;  and  Mr.  Whittelsey  was  assigned  to  the  Bibli- 
cal department,  hoping  that,  with  his  proficiency  in 
Tamil,  he  would  succeed  in  creating  a  sufficient  en- 
thusiasm in  that  direction  to  counterbalance  the 
tendencies  toward  the  study  of  the  English  and  the 
sciences. 

Early  iu  1844,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Apthorp  removed 
from  Varany  to  Valvetty,  near  the  sea,  for  Dt,.ltUofMr 
the  benefit  of  her  health.  A  few  months  Aptl,orp- 
later  Mr.  Apthorp  was  attacked  by  typhus  fever,  and 
died  on  the  8th  of  June.  His  last  words,  within  an 
hour  of  his  departure,  were,  "  Precious  Saviour, 
come,  come  quickly."  His  afflicted  widow,  though 
not  in  good  health,  decided  to  remain  in  the  mis- 
sion, and  took  the  oversight  of  schools  at  Manepy. 

Messrs.  Spaulding,  Scudder,  and  Hntchings  being 
in  the  United  States  in  1845,  the  Pruden-  . 
tial  Committee  held  a  protracted  consulta-  ['',',"?, Tulu-' 
tion  with   them,  mainly  to  ascertain  why 
greater  progress  had  not  been  made  in  obtaining  a 
native  ministry,  and  how  that  important  result  could 


184  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

best  be  promoted.  The  inquiry  involved  many  of 
the  vital  principles  and  many  details  of  the  mission- 
ary work,  and  was  afterwards  further  prosecuted 
among-  the  missionaries  then  on  the  ground. 

The  organization  of  the  churches  in  Ceylon  had 
been  more  and  more  with  a  view  to  their  training 
for  self-government.  Mr.  Spaulding  said,  that  they 
never  used  authority  to  influence  a  vote,  and  always 
took  care  not  to  break  with  the  church,  but  to  carry 
it  with  them.  At  their  best  estate,  the  churches 
always  had  great  weaknesses  when  first  gathered 
from  among  the  heathen,  and  could  not  stand  alone. 
It  took  a  long  time  for  them  to  rise  above  the  invet- 
erate habit  of  lying,  and  dishonesty,  and  the  not 
less  inveterate  prejudices  and  habits  of  caste.  That 
these  churches  might  spread  themselves  beyond  the 
stations,  under  a  native  ministry,  and  exist  indepen- 
dently of  the  mission,  it  was  important  that  every 
church  member  should  come  as  soon  as  possible  to 
have  a  mature  and  well-balanced  Christian  charac- 
ter. Yet  it  was  obvious  that  all  who  gave  satisfac- 
tory evidence  of  being  regenerated  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  ought  to  be  received  into  the  visible  fold  of 
Christ  as  soon  as  they  gave  such  evidence,  so  that 
the  principles  and  influences  of  the  Gospel  might 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  them  with  their  greatest 
force.  In  this  way  the  standard  of  practical  relig- 
ion would  be  progressively  raised,  and  along  with  it, 
by  an  obvious  process,  the  standard  of  qualifications 
for  church  membership. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  185 

The  Christians  in  Jaffna  lived  among  the  heathen, 
often  in  the  same  house;  and  though  the  ultimate 
good  results  might  thus  he  greater,  this  comming- 
ling of  the  two  elements  must  have  a  tendenev  to 
weaken  the  power  of  the  Christian  life  in  its  pro- 
fessors. The  children,  moreover,  of  the  native  Chris- 
tians must  thus  he  in  very  great  danger  of  imbibing 
heathen  ideas,  prejudices,  and  customs.  But  there 
seemed  no  way  of  avoiding  this  evil.  We  must  sow 
beside  all  waters,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  all  as  we 
have  opportunity,  leaving  it  for  the  Head  of  the 
Church  to  work  out  the  great  result. 

The  testimony  of  the  brethren  as  to  the  value  of 
the  schools  in  their  own  mission,  was  Yalueofthe 
united  and  strong.  The  religious  instruc-  8chools' 
tion  given  in  the  Seminary  at  Batticotta  they  repre- 
sented as  being  greater,  than  is  given  in  any  of  the 
colleges  in  the  United  States;  but  the  instructors 
desired  some  one  to  be  associated  with  them,  who  by 
long  preaching  in  the  native  tongue  would  be  better 
prepared  with  language  and  experience,  than  any 
of  the  instructors  then  in  the  pastoral  and  theologi- 
cal departments. 

The  brethren,  in  giving  their  testimony  before  the 
Committee,  described  the  native  helpers  of  vaiueofthe 

native  help- 

the  Ceylon  mission  as  possessing  fine  tal-  ers 
cuts.     They  excelled  as  mathematicians.      One  of 
the  native  preachers  was  said  to  be  as  well  qualified 
for  the  ministry,  as  one  half  of  the  young  clergy- 


186  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

men  in  this  country;  and  he  and  another  of  the 
preachers  were  thought  to  be  fully  equal  in  the  pul- 
pit to  some  of  our  American  preachers  of  acknowl- 
edged eloquence.  In  seasons  of  revival  the  native 
helpers  have  manifested  a  lovely  spirit ;  and  some 
of  them,  when  sent  to  the  continent,  have  gone 
thither  with  a  missionary  spirit.  They  sometimes 
appeared  to  think  very  little  of  money,  and  the 
brethren  were  unitedly  of  the  opinion  that  the  na- 
tive Christians  strongly  resembled  some  of  the  best 
Christians  at  home,  placed  under  similar  circum- 
stances. 

In  the  absence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spanlding,  the 
TheOodoo-    female  seminary  at  Oodooville  had  the  care 

ville  semi- 

nary-  of  Mr.  Whittelsey,  and   enjoyed  its  usual 

prosperity.  Seventy  pupils  had  been  married  from 
this  institution  since  its  commencement.  All  but 
two  or  three  of  them  were  regarded  as  hopefully 
pious,  and  only  three  or  four  had  conducted  badly. 

The  printing  establishment  at  Manepy  had  four 
Amount  of  presses  in  operation,  and  during  the  year 
printing.  lg45  printe(j  23,744  volumes,  and  145,000 
copies  of  tracts,  including  a  series  for  children. 
The  whole  number  of  continuous  pages  was  1,894, 
and  the  total  of  pages  printed  was  6,156,768 ;  of 
which  1,200,000  were  portions  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
4,050,770  were  religious  tracts. 

Mr.  Wyman  died  at  sea,  soon  after  commencing  a 
homeward  voyage  on  account  of  his  health.    Messrs. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  187 

William  W.  Rowland  and  Adin   H.  Fletcher  joined 
the    mission    with    their    wives    in    1846.  The  mission 

strength- 
Ill  the  next  year,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spanldiug  ™e&. 

returned  with  recovered  health,  from  their  visit  to 

the  United   States,  and   resumed    their   station    at 

Oodooville.      They   were    accompanied    hy   Messrs. 

Eurotas   P.  Hastings  and   William  W.  Scudder,   a 

son  of  Dr.  Scudder,  and  were  followed  by  Samuel  F. 

Green,  M.  D. 

At  Tillipally  the  experiment  was  tried  by  Mr. 
Poor  of  forming-  a  Christian  congregation  in  connec- 
tion with  the  church,  but  the  people  seem  not  to 
have  been  prepared  for  it.1 

Mr.  Whittelsey,  while  journeying  for  health  in 
southern  India,  was  seized  with  an  inflam-  „   ..    r., 

'  Death  of  Mr. 

matory  fever,  the  result,  as  was  supposed,  Whlttel8ey- 
of  fatigue  and  exposure  on  his  way  from  Madura  to 
Dindignl,  and  died  at  the  latter  place  on  the  10th 
of  March,  1817.  When  drawing  near  the  close  of 
his  exemplary  and  useful  career,  he  witnessed  this 
good  confession,  "  I  would  rather  be  a  missionary  in 
this  dark  land  pointing  these  ignorant  heathen  to 
Christ,  than  to  be  enjoying  all  the  pleasures  of  a 
civilized  and  Christian  country." 

The  persecution  experienced  by  a  convert  among 
the  Roman  Catholic  fishermen,  is  thus  de-  Roman  cath- 
scribed  by  Mr.  Howland  :  "  Soon  after  he  «on. 
began  to  come  to  us,  his  Roman  Catholic  neighbors 

1  See  Report  for  1847,  p.  152. 


188  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

commenced  persecuting-  him  for  leaving  their  relig- 
ion, and  they  still  trouble  him  in  every  possible  way. 
They  at  one  time  secreted  salt  in  his  yard  ;  and, 
bringing  an  officer,  seized  him  upon  the  charge  of 
making  salt  contrary  to  law  ;  but  his  terrified  rela- 
tives, by  paying  money  to  the  parties  concerned, 
arrested  the  prosecution.  His  enemies  then  threat- 
ened to  take  him  to  court,  and,  by  swearing  that  he 
was  a  robber,  obtain  his  imprisonment;  which,  in 
this  land  of  crime  and  perjury,  could  easily  be  done. 
At  other  times  they  have  tried  to  instigate  his  rela- 
tives against  him,  and  again  they  have  threatened 
to  beat  him,  so  that  he  was  obliged  to  stay  away 
from  the  bungalow  for  several  Sabbaths  for  fear  of 
disturbance.  One  of  the  principal  men  in  his  vil- 
lage told  him,  not  long  since,  that  if  it  were  not 
for  fear  of  the  law,  he  would  kill  him  for  bringing 
disgrace  upon  the  Roman  Catholic  religion.  During 
all  this  persecution  he  has  stood  firm.  He  does  not 
seem  anxious  that  we  should  use  our  influence  to 
"prevent  it,  but  rather  the  contrary,  saying,  "  I  must 
trust  in  God  ;  even  though  they  destroy  my  body, 
they  cannot  destroy  my  soul." 

Dr.  Poor  arrived  in  the  United  States  with    his 

wife  in  September,  1848,  and  his  addresses  during 

the  two  years  of  his  visit  are  among  the  cherished 

memories  of  many  in  different  sections  of 

New  mission- 

aries  the   country.      Messrs.   Joseph    T.   Noyes, 

Cyrus  T.  Mills,  and  Thomas  S.  Burnell,  printer,  with 
their  wives,  joined  the  mission  in  March,  1849. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  189 

On  the  11th  of  the  same  mouth  Mrs.  Catherine 
E.  Scudder,  wife  of  Mr.  William  W.  Scud-  Be.lth,,fMrs 
der,  and  daughter  of  Dr.  Thomas  Hastings  8cu,ia,r 
of  New  York,  died  of  cholera  on  hoard  a  small  native 
vessel  while  returning1,  with  her  husband  and  infant 
child  and  a  brother  missionary,  from  Madura  to 
Jaffna.  Death  in  such  circumstances  might  well 
have  seemed  a  fearful  messenger.  "  After  speaking 
of  her  affection  for  me,"  says  her  husband,  "  she 
added,  that  she  hoped  I  would  not  grieve  too  much 
on  account  of  her  death,  but  strive  to  live  a  devoted 
missionary.  I  asked  her  if  she  were  happy.  She 
replied,  '  Yes,  for  Jesus  is  with  me.'  We  then  united 
with  brother  Hastings  in  a  short  prayer.  When  he 
had  closed  she  commenced  praying.  She  thanked 
the  Lord  that  we  had  all  been  permitted  to  live  so 
long,  and  asked  that  we  might  spend  the  remainder 
of  our  lives  iu  his  service,  and  be  at  length  received 
into  glory.  She  paused  for  a  moment,  and  then  com- 
mended her  babe  to  the  kind  care  and  protection  of 
her  heavenly  Father.  When  she  had  finished  praying,' 
I  asked  her  if  she  had  not  a  blessing  to  ask  for  me. 
She  said,  '  Yes,  that  you  may  he  a  devoted  mission- 
ary.' Shortly  after  this  she  left  messages  for  a  few 
of  her  friends,  and  then  added  :  '  I  know  that  my 
parents  will  never  regret  having  given  me  up  to  the 
missionary  work.'  I  asked,  '  Do  you  regret  it  your- 
self?' She  replied,  with  unusual  emphasis,  'No.' 
Being  asked,  if  she  were  afraid  of  death,  she  said, 


190  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

'  No,  for  my  Saviour  is  with  me.' "  The  vessel  was 
then  anchored  off  Anmapatum,  a  town  on  the  conti- 
nent. In  a  coffin  of  rough  boards,  the  best  that 
could  be  obtained,  her  mortal  remains  were  deposited 
beneath  a  grove  of  thorn  trees,  looking  out  upon  the 
ocean,  there  to  await  the  resurrection  of  the  right- 
eous dead. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cope  were  obliged  to  return  home 
this  year,  and  so  were  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoisingtou,  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fletcher.  Mr.  Mills  was  appointed 
A  ood  principal  of  the  Seminary.  Just  before  this, 
the  price  of  board  was  raised  in  that  insti- 
tution, and  due  notice  of  the  fact  was  given,  and  that 
all  must  pay  in  advance  for  at  least  one  term.  The 
mission  expected  to  get  a  class,  but  was  not  prepared 
for  a  rush  as  on  former  occasions.  But  when  the 
day  arrived,  the  premises  were  crowded  with  candi- 
dates and  their  interceding  friends.  There  were  not 
less  than  forty  who  were  fitted  and  ready  to  pay,  and 
many  others  were  as  well  prepared  for  entrance  as 
those  formerly  received,  thus  indicating  an  advanced 
state  of  public  sentiment  on  the  subject  of  educa- 
tion. Among  the  fathers  and  friends  of  the  candi- 
dates were  some  of  the  most  influential  men  of  the 
land.  One  fact  came  distinctly  to  view,  that  the 
people  felt  their  sons  to  be  safe  in  the  Seminary  as 
to  their  moral  habits. 

"  How  changed  !  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Hastings'  moon- 
The change,    ghee,   on    observing    how    earnestly   these 


CEYLON  MISSION.  191 

heathen  parents  were  pleading  for  the  admission 
of  their  sons  into  a  Christian  boarding-school.  "  I 
seem  as  one  born  blind,  and  now  just  made  to  see. 
These  men,  when  young-,  would  refuse  even  a  plan- 
tain from  the  missionary,  and  if  they  came  to  his 
house  they  would  purify  themselves  by  bathing-  be- 
fore going  to  their  own  home.  I  used  to  do  so. 
When  I  taught  the  missionaries  I  always  stopped 
at  the  tank  on  my  way  home  and  bathed,  else  my 
friends  would  not  have  received  me.  But  now,  how 
changed  ! " 

Mrs.  Apthorp  lived  five  years  after  the  death  of 
her  husband,  until  the  3d  of  September,  Deathonir3, 
1849.  Her  remains  were  deposited  by  the  Apthorp- 
side  of  those  of  her  husband  in  the  mission  burial- 
ground  at  Oodooville.  Though  much  of  the  time 
a  sufferer  from  bodily  infirmities,  she  had  been  an 
active  and  faithful  laborer,  spoke  the  language  of 
the  people  with  ease  and  correctness,  and  made  the 
Gospel  known  to  not  a  few  of  her  own  sex.  It  was 
her  deliberate  purpose,  if  such  were  the  will  of  God, 
to  die  among  the  heathen. 

The  Governor  of  Ceylon,  after  returning  from  a 
tour  in  the  province  of  Jaffna  in  the  early  Testimony  of 

the  Gov- 

part  of  1850,  published  the  following  no-   «mr. 
tice  of  his  visit :  — 

"  His  Excellency  cannot  omit  to  dwell,  with  pecu- 
liar satisfaction,  on  the  pleasure  afforded  him  by  his 
personal  inspection  of  the  great  educational  estab- 


192  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

lishments  which  are  the  distinguishing-  character- 
istic of  the  northern  province.  To  those  noble 
volunteers  in  the  cause  of  Christianity  and  educa- 
tion, the  gentlemen  of  the  American  mission,  who 
by  their  generous  self-devotion  in  a  foreign  and  dis- 
tant laud  have  produced  so  marked  an  improvement 
in  the  scene  of  their  labors,  His  Excellency  feels 
that  he  should  pay  a  special  tribute  of  grateful  ac- 
knowledgment. He  is  glad  to  hail,  in  this  dedica- 
tion of  American  enterprise  and  American  charity 
to  the  work  of  civilizing  and  enlightening  a  distant 
dependency  of  the  British  crowu,  one  more  tie  of 
kindred  with  the  great  nation  that  sends  them  forth 
—  one  more  pledge  that  between  the  Old  and  the 
New  England  there  can  henceforth  be  only  a  gen- 
erous rivalry  in  the  cause  of  knowledge  and  truth." 
Mr.  Minor  the  printer  was  obliged,  after  a  resi- 
dence of  seventeen  years,  to  return  with 

Return  of  J  3 

Mr.  Mmor.  ^\s  family  to  his  native  land,  where  he  ar- 
rived in  July,  1851,  nor  was  he  able  to  resume  his 
work. 

The  patients  registered  by  Dr.  Green  during  the 
The  medical  year  ending  April  1,  1851,  were  2,217,  not 
department.  ineiu(|jng  those  visited  at  their  own  houses. 
They  came  to  the  dispensary  at  nine  in  the  morning, 
and  were  instructed  in  the  truth  by  Dr.  Green,  or 
his  assistants.  The  number  reached  by  the  Gospel 
in  this  way,  in  that  one  year,  must  have  been  more 
than  three  thousand.     Five  young  men,  all  of  them 


CEYLON  MISSION.  193 

professing  Christians,  were  receiving  instruction  as  a 
medical  class.  Dr.  Green  was  preparing-  a  Tamil 
nomenclature  for  anatomy,  physiology,  and  hygiene, 
expecting  soon  to  put  the  elements  of  these  sciences 
into  the  native  language.  Some  work  of  this  kind 
he  thought  might  do  much  good,  not  only  as  intro- 
ducing more  medical  knowledge  and  a  better  system 
of  medical  practice,  but  also  as  helping  to  under- 
mine superstition,  with  which  the  practice  of  the 
native  physician  is  intimately  connected. 

It  was  in  the  year  1852  that  Mr.  Marshall  D. 
Sanders  and  his  wife  joined  the  mission.  AcceBBi01ia 
Mr.  Noyes  was  transferred  to  the  Madura  M,dch*n«M- 
mission  in  the  next  year,  for  the  improvement  of 
Mrs.  Noyes'  health,  where  she  found  great  benefit 
from  their  near  proximity  to  the  Pulney  Hills.  The 
health  of  Mrs.  Mills  having  failed,  she  and  her  hus- 
band were  obliged  to  return  to  the  United  States  in 
1853,  and  Mr.  Hastings  took  charge  of  the  Semi- 
nary. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mills  were  afterwards  con- 
nected for  some  years  with  the  Oahu  College,  on 
the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  Rev.  Nathan  L.  Lord 
and  wife  arrived  in  June,  1853. 

13 


CHAPTER  X. 

TAMIL   PEOPLE   ON   THE   CONTINENT. 
THE    MADURA   MISSION. 

1834-1853. 

Southern  India  has  no  great  alluvial  plains. 
southern       Along  the  eastern  shore  from  Cape  Como- 

India  deline-  .  . 

ated.  mi,  there  is  a  strip  or  sandy  waste,  extend- 

ing three  or  four  miles  from  the  sea,  beyond  which 
the  land  rises  so  imperceptibly  as  to  give  the  appear- 
ance of  an  almost  level  plain  quite  back  to  the  base 
of  the  mountains.  Here  and  there  detached  hills 
and  groups  of  mountains  rise  abruptly  from  the 
plain,  with  their  upper  parts  clothed  with  forests. 
The  Madura  Collectorate  has  about  nine  thousand 
square  miles.  It  is  watered  by  rivers  running  from 
the  mountains  to  the  sea,  which  are  filled  by  the 
annual  rains.  The  waters  are  stored  within  strong 
artificial  dikes  on  the  river  sides,  and  are  thus 
made  available  for  the  needed  irrigation. 

The  Collectorate  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Coim- 
batore,  Trichinopoly,  and  Taujore,  on  the  east  by 
the  Bay  of  Bengal,  on  the  south  by  the  Gulf  of  Ma- 


■  TRICHINOPOLY 

)     V     O     L     V 


rANJORE 


MADURA   MISSION.  195 

naar  and  Tinnevelly,  and  on  the  west  by  the  native 
kingdom  of  Travancore,  and  lies  between  the  lati- 
tudes 9°  05'  and  10°  45'.  The  principal  spur  of  the 
Ghats,  known  as  the  Pulney  Hills,  is  in  the  north- 
western seetion  of  the  District,  and  upon  these  is 
the  Sanitarium  of  the  Madura  Mission,  situated  on 
a  large  plateau,  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.1  The  thermometer  ranges  from  20°  to 
25°  below  that  of  the  plains,  and  the  climate  is  very 
salubrious,  being  elevated  above  the  reach  of  the  or- 
dinary malarious  fever  of  India,  and  drier  and  more 
equable  in  temperature  even  than  the  Neilgherries.2 
The  District,  though  hot,  is  free  from  sudden 
changes,  and  is  healthy.  A  score  of  missionaries 
have  spent  nearly  twenty  years  in  the  mission,  with 
no  other  relief  than  an  occasional  resort  to  the 
Hills.  The  population  of  the  District  is  now  about 
two  and  a  half  millions.  Mohammedans  and  Roman 
Catholics  are  scattered  in  the  towns  and  villages, 
but  the  mass  of  the  people  are  pagans. 

As  it  was  contiguous  to  Jaffna,  and  unoccupied 
by  missionaries,  while  two  English   Soci-  whymade 

•  •        j.1         t    n>         -r\-  the  site  of  a 

eties  had  each  a  mission  in  the  Janna  Dis-  newmission. 
trict,  it  was  natural  for  the  brethren  in  Ceylon  to 
look  to  the  Madura  District  when  in  search  of  a 
field  for  a  new  mission. 

Accordingly   Mr.  Spaulding,  early   in    1834,  was 

i  The  height  of  Mount  Washington,  N.  H.,  is  6,214  feet. 
2  Nelson's  Manual.. 


196  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

commissioned  by  liis  brethren  to  visit  the  continent, 
Thepreiimi     and  ascertain  where  it  would  be  advisable 

nary  meas-  ,,  .      .  m    i   •  -1 

ure.  to  commence  the  mission.      raking  three 

native  helpers,  and  a  large  number  of  tracts  and 
portions  of  Scripture,  he  visited  Ramnad,  Palam- 
cotta,  Nagercoil,  and  the  city  of  Madura.  Madura 
had  been  the  abode  of  the  ancient  Tamil  kings,  and 
the  chief  seat  of  brahminical  pride.  It  was  also  the 
grand  centre  of  Jesuit  missions  in  the  seventeenth 
century.  Mr.  Spaulding  selected  it  as  the  most  eli- 
gible location.  Palamcotta,  Nagercoil,  and  Tinne- 
velly  were  already  occupied  by  English  Societies.  It 
has  been  stated  that  Mr.  Woodward  of  the  Ceylon 
mission,  when  on  the  Neilgherries  for  the  restora- 
tion of  his  health,  obtained  the  consent  of  the  Gov- 
ernor-general of  India  and  the  Governor  of  Madras 
commence-  for  an  American  mission  in  Southern  India. 
mission.  Messrs.  William  Todd  and  Henry  C.  Hois- 
ington  were  introduced  to  this  new  field  by  Mr. 
Spaulding  in  the  following  July,  accompanied  by 
three  of  the  older  pupils  from  Batticotta.  Jaffna  is 
comparatively  crowded  with  villages,  and  Mr.  Hois- 
ington  felt  some  disappointment  on  his  way  to  Ma- 
dura ;  the  villages  seemed  so  far  apart  and  small. 
The  population  of  the  Madura  District  was  then  es- 
timated at  one  million  three  hundred  thousand,  and 
the  Tamil  people  of  the  continent  numbered  six  or 
eight  millions.  The  city  of  Madura  had  between 
thirty  and  forty  thousand  inhabitants,  and  was   sur- 


MADURA  MISSION.  197 

rounded  by  double  walls,  with  numerous  bastions 
and  a  broad  ditch.  The  walls  have  since  been  lev- 
eled, and  the  ditch  filled  up.  Mr.  Hoisingtou 
speaks  of  it  as  a  city  of  temples,  the  largest  of 
which  has  a  wall  half  a  mile  in  circumference,  con- 
taining- as  many  as  ten  thousand  stone  pillars,  on 
which  are  carved  curiously  wrought  images  of  every 
description. 

Mrs.  Todd  lived  but  a  short  time,  her  death 
occurring,  after  a  painful  sickness,  in  September 
of  the  following  year.  Early  in  1835,  Messrs. 
Hoisingtou  and  Eckard  made  an  exchange  of 
labors,  Mr.  Eckard  removing  to  Madura.  Messrs. 
Alanson  C.  Hall  and  John  J.  Lawrence,  and  their 
wives,  reached  Jaffna  in  the  same  year,  and  went 
with  Messrs.  Poor  and  Todd  to  Madura,  arriving  in 
October  after  a  journey  of  twelve  days.  Mr.  Poor 
expected  to  spend  three  months  in  missionary  labors 
at  Madura,  and  his  preaching  at  ouce  excited  much 
attention.  Mrs.  Todd  had  died  September  11,  and 
Mrs.  Hall  followed  her  on  the  2d  of  the  following 
January.  Both  of  these  devoted  women  departed  in 
great  peace  of  mind,  rejoicing  that  they  had  gone  to 
India  on  such  an  errand  of  mercy.  Mr.  Hall's 
health  failed  so  that  he  soon  after  returned  to  the 
United  States,  and  at  his  own  request  received  an 
honorable  dismission.  The  health  of  Mrs.  Eckard 
required  the  return  of  herself  and  husband  back  to 
the  Ceylon  mission. 


198  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

The  three  months  spent  by  Mr.  Poor  at  Madura 
Mr.  Poors      had  so  impressed  him  with  the  value  of  the 

removal  to  .  . 

Maiuia.  field,  and  the  desirableness  of  having-  those 
on  the  ground  who  could  preach  in  the  native  lan- 
guage, that,  with  the  concurrence  of  his  mission,  he 
resigned  the  care  of  the  Batticotta  Seminary  and 
removed  to  Madura  in  March,  1835.  "  Regarding 
the  missionary  premises  as  a  centre,"  he  writes, 
"  there  is  within  the  compass  of  a  single  mile,  a 
greater  amount  of  population,  than  is  to  be  found  in 
the  whole  extent  of  the  field  of  our  labors  in  Jaffna. 
The  population  consists  principally  of  idolaters,  the 
worshippers  of  Siva  and  Vishnu.  Madura  is  the 
principal  seat  of  idolatry  in  southern  India.  It  is 
indeed  a  stronghold.  Idolatry  seems  to  be  the  all- 
engrossing  subject,  and  wears  a  bold  front.  There 
are  circumstances,  however,  which  render  even  the 
Fort  of  Madura  a  more  inviting  field  of  labor  than 
Jaffna.  Many  of  the  brahmins,  some  of  the  highest 
standing,  are  in  the  service  of  government,  conse- 
quently they  are  detached  in  an  important  sense 
from  the  temple  service,  and  comparatively  iudiffer- 
ent  to  its  interests.  These  are  of  course  more  ac- 
cessible than  those  connected  with  the  temples. 
The  brahmins  are  extremely  numerous,  but  learning 
anion sr  them  is  in  a  low  state.  The  friends  of  idol- 
atry  rely  mainly  upon  the  outward  pomp  of  their 
numerous  festivals  to  captivate  the  imaginations  of 
the  people,  and  hold  their  minds  in  bondage."     A 


MADURA   MISSION.  199 

leading  object  with  Mr.  Poor  was  to  ascertain  what 
were  the  obstacles  to  the  seminarists  as  native  as- 
sistants, and  how  those  obstacles  might  be  over- 
come. 

Thirty-five  schools  were  then  connected  with  this 
mission,  containing  more  than  a  thousand  Schooigand 
boys,  and  nearly  a  hundred  girls.  Nine  of  helpers 
the  schools  were  in  the  city  of  Madura.  A  more 
advanced  school  was  opened  there,  in  a  set  of  rooms 
loaned  for  the  purpose  by  the  collector,  in  the  ar- 
cades of  the  old  palace  of  the  Pandian  kings.  Eight 
of  the  native  helpers  were  educated  at  Batticotta, 
two  came  from  Tranquebar,  one  from  Trichinopoly, 
one  from  Palamcottah,  and  six  belonged  to  Madura. 
The  English  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel 
sent  a  missionary  to  Madura,  another  to  Dindignl, 
and  a  third  to  Ramnad,  but  soon  decided  to  with- 
draw from  all  these  places,  except  the  last. 

Mr.  Robert  0.  Dwight  and  wife  joined  the  mis- 
sion in  April,  1836,  and  near  the  close  of  Enlargement 
the  year  commenced  a  station  at  Dindignl.  sum. 
Messrs.  Henry  Cherry,  Edward  Cope,  Nathaniel  M. 
Crane,  Clarendon  F.  Muzzy,  William  Tracy,  F.  D. 
W.  Ward,  and  Dr.  John  Steele,  with  their  wives, 
were  added  to  the  mission  in  the  year  1837.  The 
second    Mrs.  Todd,  formerly    Mrs.  Wood- 

t  ft  Deaths. 

ward,  died   June  1,  and    Mrs.  Cherry   on 

the  4th  of  November  at  Chavagacherry  in  Ceylon. 

The  second  Mrs.  Cherry,  sister  of  the  first,  and  also 


200  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

of  Mrs.  Winslow,  died  January  19,  1844,  four  years 
after  her  marriage. 

The  schools  at  Madura  suffered  from  an  absurd 
Absurd  re-  report  raised  by  a  native,  that  the  mission- 
pors'  aries   privately  compelled  the  children  to 

drink  a  dose  prepared  to  bewilder  their  minds,  and 
so  make  them  Christians.  Parents  also  feared  lest 
their  children,  if  they  entered  the  schools,  would  be 
made  slaves,  or  soldiers,  or  be  transported  beyond 
the  seas. 

This  was  the  year  so  memorable  for  commercial 
seasonable     disaster   in    the    United    States;    and    the 

aid  from 

government,  schools  of  the  Madura  mission  must  have 
suffered,  as  did  those  in  Ceylon,  had  not  the  Mad- 
ras government  made  a  grant  of  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  toward  their  support. 

The  mission  entered  upon  the  year  1839  with  five 
stations,  —  Madura,  Dindigul,  thirty-eight  miles 
northerly  from  Madura,  Tirupuvanam  twelve  miles 
southeast,  Sivaganga  twenty-five  miles  easterly,  and 
Tirumang-alam  twelve  miles  southwest.  Mr.  Todd's 
«  4.    „„     health   constrained  him    to   return    home. 

Death  of  Dr. 

steeie.  j)r    Steele  \vas   seriously  threatened  with 

consumption  but  partially  recovered  by  means  of  a 
voyage  to  Singapore.  He  died  on  the  6th  of  October, 
1842.  As  a  physician,  a  man  of  business,  and  a 
missionary,  he  won  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  all 
his  associates,  and  greatly  endeared  himself,  by  his 
kind  and  prompt  attention  and  his  endeavors,  even 


MADURA    Ml  SSI  OX.  201 

beyond  his  strength,  to  administer  relief  in  times  of 
sickness.  The  native  population  loved  and  respected 
him.  His  end  was  peace.  "  Alter  five  years  ac- 
quaintance with  him,"  wrote  Mr.  Dwight,  "  I  do 
not  recollect  a  word  or  an  action  which  I  could  wish 
different." 

Francis  Asbury,  a  promising-  native,  was  licensed 
to  preach  the  Gospel,  Most  of  the  native  Tht,  natiye 
helpers  were  educated  at  Batticotta.  Two  helpera 
weekly  meetings  were  held  with  them  at  Madura; 
one  for  receiving  their  reports,  the  other  for  giving 
them  instruction  in  theology.  Expository  preach- 
ing, with  a  free  use  of  interrogatories,  was  found  to 
be  the  most  useful.  Mr.  Poor  returned  to  Jaffna  in 
October,  1841,  after  an  absence  of  six  years. 

The  East  India  Government  had  heretofore  the 
control  of  the  revenue  arising  from  a  tax  The  govem- 

...  .    .  ,  i  ment  con- 

upon   pilgrims  visiting  the    sacred  places,  Motion  with 

110  °  L  '    idolatry  dis- 

and  also  from  certain  funds  connected  with  solved- 
the  temples.  As  the  disbursement  of  these  gave  an 
official  support  to  idolatry,  an  order  was  promul- 
gated, about  this  time,  to  dissolve  all  such  connec- 
tion with  the  system.  A  brahmin,  formerly  much 
opposed  to  Christianity,  called  soon  after  on  Mr. 
Tracy,  who  thus  writes  :  "  In  the  course  of  conver- 
sation, I  mentioned  the  rumor  that  the  government 
was  about  giving  up  to  the  people  the  care  of  the 
temples,  and  asked  if  he  could  tell  me  anything 
about  it?     He  replied,  he  was  very  sorry  to  say  it 


202  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

was  too  true.  Why?  I  asked.  Because,  said  he,  '  the 
government  took  very  good  care  of  the  temples,  but 
now  they  will  go  to  ruin.  The  government  ought 
not  to  resign  this  charge  of  the  sacred  places.' 
'  But,'  said  I,  '  the  government  have  often  been 
charged  with  approving  of  heathenism  because  they 
took  care  of  temples,  and  there  was  some  reason 
for  such  a  charge.  Now  they  show  that  the  charge 
was  unfounded.  As  it  would  be  wrong  for  the  gov- 
ernment to  compel  any  to  become  Christians,  so  it 
would  be  wrong  for  them  to  support  heathenism. 
If  the  people  love  their  own  religion,  they  will  sup- 
port it;  and  if  they  do  not,  then  let  it  go  to  ruin.' 
Native  esd-    '  Ah,'  said  he,  '  there  is  the  difficulty.     The 

mate  of  the  .  .  . 

brahmins,  people  do  not  love  their  religion  for  its 
own  sake;  scarce  a  single  brahmin  could  be  found 
who  would  do  anything  from  real  love  to  it.  It  is  a 
desire  to  make  a  living,  which  influences  them  all. 
Here  in  Madura  the  temple  is  under  the  care  of 
four  men,  two  of  whom  are  among  the  highest 
brahmins.  Now  commit  the  funds  of  the  temple  to 
their  hands,  and  those  funds  will  quickly  disappear. 
Each  one  will  appropriate  something  to  his  own  use, 
till  in  a  short  time  all  will  be  gone.  And  the  same 
is  true  of  the  other  temples.'  " 

Mrs.  Steele  having  married  Mr.  Smith,  of  the 
Ceylon  mission,  removed  to  Jaffna ;  and  the  de- 
parture of  Mr.  Poor  made  it  necessary  for  Mr. 
Dwiii'ht    to    remove   to    Madura.      On    the    7th    of 


MADURA   MISSION.  203 

January,  1844,  he  was  attacked    with  the  cholera, 
which  proved  fatal  on   the  following  day.   Deathsof 

Mr.  Dwight 

In  the  same  house,  Mrs.  North  died  on  and  others, 
the  13th,  and  Mrs.  Cherry  on  the  19th;  and  there 
also  Mrs.  Dwight  and  her  children,  and  Mr.  Muzzy, 
and  the  children  of  Mr.  North  lay  sick  with  the 
same  disease.  The  native  population  were  dying  at 
the  rate  of  fifty  or  sixty  a  day,  and  the  atmosphere 
was  tainted  with  the  odor  from  the  funeral  piles. 
The  annual  meeting-  of  the  mission  had  been  ap- 
pointed at  Madura  on  the  day  of  Mr.  Dwight's 
death,  and  all  the  members  of  the  mission  had 
been  thus  brought  together,  to  pass  through  these 
scenes  of  affliction.  Their  danger  was  enhanced  by 
the  fact  that  they  were  then  without  a  physician, 
Dr.  Ward  having  been  transferred  to  Madras.  Mr. 
North  had  arrived  from  Singapore  only  a  few  days 
before.  The  loss  of  Mr.  Dwight  was  greatly  felt. 
There  was  in  him  a  combination  of  qualities,  that 
promised  great  usefulness,  and  his  presence  in  the 
mission  seemed  never  so  much  needed.  His  eud 
was  characterized  by  Christian  peace  and  hope. 
The  Rev.  Horace  S.  Taylor  and  wife  joined  the  mis- 
sion this  year. 

The  course  of  the  mission  for  the  next  twelve 
years  was  one  of  gradual  but  nearly  uniform  prog- 
ress. It  differed  from  the  Danish  Protestant  mission 
at  Tranquebar,  Trichinopoly,  and  Tanjore  mainly  in 
its  treatment  of  caste,  and  the  principles  on  which 


204  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

professed  converts  were  admitted  to  church  fellow- 
ship. 

THE    TRANQUEBAR,  MISSION. 

The  Tranquebar  mission  was  established  by  Zie- 
genbalg  and  Plutscho  in  1706,  and  Trichinopoly  and 
Tanjore  were  branches  of  the  same.  The  Scriptures 
were  translated  and  printed  by  these  missionaries, 
and  a  native  pastor  was  ordained  in  1733,  probably 
the  first  in  India,  but  they  did  not  venture  to  ordain 
one  of  a  low  caste.  The  most  prosperous  period  of 
their  mission  was  about  the  time  of  its  jubilee  in 
1756.  At  least  three  of  the  eight  missionaries  then 
in  the  field  were  men  of  great  ability.  Swartz  was 
then  one  of  the  junior  brethren,  having  been  there 
but  six  years.  The  number  baptized  during  these 
fifty  years  was  about  eleven  thousand.  The  mission- 
aries were  all  from  Halle,  and  though  supported  by 
the  English  Christian  Knowledge  Society,  looked  to 
the  celebrated  Augustus  Francke  as  their  spiritual 
Extraor-       head.    They  were  remarkable  for  the  length 

dinary  ...  . 

length  of       of  their  missionary  services.     Weidebrook 

missionary 

(services.  labored  nearly  thirty  years,  the  first  Kohl- 
hoff  fifty-three  years,  Zeiglin  forty  years,  Klein  forty- 
five  years,  Dr.  John  forty-three  years,  Dr.  Rottler 
sixty  years,  Dr.  Coem  merer  forty-seven  years,  Gericke 
nearly  forty  years,  and  Pohle  forty  years.  Fabricius 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-one. 

I  have  stated  these  facts,  gathered  from  Dr.  Joseph 
Mullens'  account  of  the  Missions  in  South  India,  in 


MADURA  MISSION.  205 

justice  to  the  pioneers  of  Protestant  missions  there, 
and  for  the  same  reason  I  make  the  following  quota- 
tion from  the  same  author. 

"  Before  the  close  of  the  century  the  churches  at 
Tranquelmr,  Ciuhlalore,  and  Madras  had  begun  to 
fade,  and  when  Swartz  and  Gericke  were  dead  those 
of  Tanjore  and  Trichinopoly  followed  them.  A  mis- 
sionary or  two  remained  at  each  place.  Dr.  John 
and  Dr.  Coem merer  continued  at  Tranquebar.  Pohle 
and  Kohlhoff  presided  over  the  church  of  Tanjore. 
Dr.  Rottler  was  at  Vepery.  No  younger  mission- 
aries followed  them  to  take  their  place  as  they  grew 
old.  The  Evangelical  Church  at  Halle,  whence  the 
strength  of  the  South  Indian  Mission  had  been 
drawn,  itself  decayed  and  at  last  expired.  Some  of 
the  later  missionaries  brought  neology  with  them, 
and  thus  the  missions  lingered  on  and  on,  till  each 
of  the  old  men  was  dead.  Three  of  them  survived 
till  1837,  and  one  of  them,  Caspar  Kohlhoff,  died  as 
late  as  1844.  The  total  number  of  missionaries  that 
had  joined  these  several  stations  during  the  first 
hundred  years  of  their  history  is  just  about  fifty, 
and  their  converts  amount  to  more  than  fifty  thou- 
sand. Whatever  deficiencies  there  were,  we  must 
remember  that  the  Lutheran  missionaries  were  the 
very  first  to  occupy  the  land,  the  first  to  find  out 
what  Hinduism  really  is,  the  first  to  oppose  caste, 
the  first  to  exhibit  the  peculiar  character  of  the 
Hindu  converts,  the  first  to  meet  the  difficulties  by 


200  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

which  the  work  of  Christ  in  India  is  beset.  To 
these  men,  then,  we  mast  render  high  honor,  as  we 
admire  the  fidelity,  consistency,  and  perseverance, 
with  which  they  carried  on  their  labors.  They  lived 
not  in  the  days  of  missionary  reports  and  platform 
speeches.  No  magazines  chronicled  their  difficul- 
ties, or  sought  sympathy  on  their  behalf.  Scarcely 
a  man  of  them  ever  returned  to  Europe.  They  came 
to  India  young,  in  India  they  lived,  in  India  they 
died.  They  lived  amidst  wars  and  raids,  amidst 
plunder  and  confusion  ;  they  lived  in  an  age  of  gross 
irreligion,  and  they  fought  their  part  manfully  and 
to  the  last.  Peace  be  to  their  ashes  ;  honor  to  their 
memory." 

The  era  of  modern  missions  began  in  England 
Era  of  mod-  ail(^  America,  just  as  the  light  of  the  Tran- 
em missions.  qUeoar  missions  was  fading  away. 

Since  the  year  1840,  the  churches  and  stations 
TheLeipsic  originally  established  by  Ziegeubalg  have 
been  under  the  charge  of  missionaries  sup- 
ported by  the  Leipsic  Missionary  Society. 


The  experience  of  the  American  missionaries  in 
conse-  the  Madura  District  must  needs  differ  cou- 

nter CTan-  siderably  from  that  of  the  Tranquebar  and 

gelical  poi- 
^y-  Tanjore  brethren.     The  American  mission- 
aries, before  their  twentieth  year,  had  ceased  from 
compromises  with  caste,  and  from  the  first  insisted 
on  credible  evidence  of  piety  for  admission  to  the 


MADURA  MISSION.  207 

Lord's  Supper,  nor  were  any  except  church  members 
to  offer  their  children  for  baptism.  Nor  did  tem- 
poral advantages,  to  any  considerable  extent,  result 
from  a  profession  of  the  Christian  faith,  but  the 
contrary,  until  equitable  changes  had  been  made  by 
the  government  in  the  law  of  inheritance.  Yet  the 
progress,  though  gradual,  was  constant.  Six  years 
after  the  arrival  of  the  first  missionaries  Mr.  Spauld- 
ing,  on  his  second  visit,  reported  five  stations,  nine 
missionaries,  eighty  free  schools,  four  boarding- 
schools,  and  fifteen  native  assistants.  Five  years 
later  the  free  schools  had  increased  to  one  hundred 
and  fourteen,  with  more  than  three  thousand  pupils ; 
there  was  a  Seminary  with  thirty  pupils,  four  board- 
ing-schools for  boys,  distinct  from  the  Seminary,  and 
two  for  girls  containing  more  than  one  hundred 
pupils,  five  select  schools  with  two  hundred  and  nine 
pupils,  and  eighty-seven  church  members. 

The  leading-  object  of  the  mission  was  to  gather 

self-governing  churches;  and  people  in  more  Leading  ob- 
ject of  the 
than    forty  villages   had   been   induced    in   mission. 

1846  as  a  step  in  this  direction,  to  place  tlieinselves 
under. Christian  instruction.  These  were  first  called 
Christian  Villages,  but  afterwards  Christian  Congre- 
gations. 

This  new  step  resulted  from  an  application  of  the 
people,  occasioned  in  some  cases  by  the  ex-  Chri„ti 
tortion  of  their  priests,  in  others    by  the  e0^hStt- 
expectation  of  obtaining  the  assistance  of 


208  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

the  missionary,  and  thus  improving  their  worldly 
prospects.  Some  had  been  led  to  see  the  folly  of 
idolatry  by  the  portions  of  Scripture  distributed 
among  them.  At  least  three  families  were  deemed 
needful  to  form  the  congregation,  and  these  were 
supposed  to  have  deliberately  renounced  idolatry,  or 
Romanism,  and  to  have  adopted  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. They  were  to  meet  on  the  Sabbath,  and  at 
other  times  as  they  were  able,  for  instruction  and 
worship.  The  number  of  families  embraced  in  these 
congregations,  yi  the  first  two  years,  was  four  hun- 
dred and  twenty.  In  the  third  year,  the  congre- 
gations were  sixty-nine,  containing  seven  hundred 
families  and  two  thousand  six  hundred  individuals. 
In  these  villages  were  fifty-nine  schools,  containing 
nine  hundred  children.  Religious  services  were  reg- 
ularly held  on  the  Sabbath  in  fifty-eight  of  the  vil- 
lages, with  an  average  attendance  of  about  six  hun- 
dred persons. 

Mrs.  Dwig-ht  was  married  to  Mr.  Win  slow  of  the 
Additions  to  Madras  mission  in  March,  1845.  Messrs. 
the  ^ion.  •Jame8  Herrick,  John  Kendall,  and  Edward 
Webb,  with  their  wives,  joined  the  mission  in  April 
of  the  next  year,  and  Mr.  George  W.  McMillan  and 
wife  in  the  following  July.  Dr.  Scudder  returned  to 
India  this  year,  and  spent  a  year  as  missionary  phy- 
sician at  Madura,  but  without  transferring  his  rela- 
„    ,._„     tion  from  the  Madras  mission.     Mr.  Law- 

r>eath  of  Mr. 

Lawrence.      rence  {\\0{\  at  Trauqucbar,  after  twelve  years 


MADURA   MISSION.  209 

of  missionary  labor,  December  20,  1846,  at  the  age 
of  forty.  He  had  been  a  faithful  servant  of  Christ, 
and  the  thought  was  pleasant  to  him  that  his  body 
would  rest  by  the  side  of  the  early  missionaries  of 
Tranquebar.     Mrs.  Muzzy  also  died  on  the  Death  of 

,-..        ,       i    ■  .  Mrs.  Muzzy. 

3d  of  December.     She  had  been  ten  years 
in  India,  and  such  was  the  impression  made  by  her 
on  the  natives,  that  many  came  from  Tiruinangalaui 
and  Tirupuvanam  to  see  her  remains,  and  some  hun- 
dreds of  persons  attended  her  funeral. 

As  it  was  desirable  to  have  the  Seminary  nearer 
the  central  station,  it  was  removed  to  Pa-  Newton 
sumalai,  two  miles  southwest  of  Madura,  nary. 
where  convenient  buildings  were  erected  for  the 
principal,  the  teachers,  and  students,  on  a  lot  of 
land  secured  to  the  mission.  The  number  of  stu- 
dents had  increased  to  sixty,  of  whom  sixteen  were 
members  of  the  church.  All  of  the  graduating 
class  became  helpers  in  the  mission.  The  object  of 
the  Seminary  was  not  to  raise  up  clerks  for  the  gov- 
ernment offices,  but  helpers  for  the  mission,  and 
pastors  for  the  native  churches.     On  this  ^ygoy. 

„    .,  -._.*      eminent  par- 

aCCOUIlt  the  patronage  ol  the  government,   tronage  Wlts 

.       declined. 

kindly  offered  about  this  time,  was  respect- 
fully declined. 

The  girls'  boarding-school  at  Madura  had  seventy- 
two  pupils,  nine  of  whom  were  admitted  to  ^  ^^ 
the  church  during  the  year.     Four  of  the 
stations  had  each  a  boarding-school  for  boys,  and 

14 


210  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

these  were  regarded  as  nurseries  for  the  Seminary. 
They  contained  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  pupils. 
There  were  three  select  day-schools,  one  for  hoys 
and  two  for  girls,  each  at  a  different  station  ;  the 
pupils  residing  at  their  homes.  Of  village  free 
schools  there  were  one  hundred  and  twenty-five, 
containing  three  thousand  and  eight  hundred  pu- 
churchea       pils.     The  native  churches  received  ninety - 

and  mar- 
riages, seven  members  during  the  year.    Thirteen 

Christian    marriages  were   reported.      Madura  was 

.  visited  this  year  by  an  agent  of  a  native 

A  pagan  J  J  a 

missionary.  society  of  pagails  at  Madras  for  the  pro- 
motion of  Hinduism.  Besides  putting  in  circula- 
tion the  tracts  of  his  society,  this  agent  delivered 
addresses  twice  every  Sabbath  to  large  audiences, 
assembled  to  hear  him  in  the  great  temple.  These 
were  not  so  much  a  defense  of  idolatry,  as  deistical 
objections  to  the  Bible,  gathered  chiefly  from 
Paine's  "  Age  of  Reason  ;  "  and  he  dealt  largely  in 
ridicule  of  Christianity  and  its  adherents,  especially 
the  missionaries.  Absurd  reports  were  put  in  cir- 
culation, which  were  so  extensively  received,  that 
the  Collector,  fearing  the  consequences,  made  pub- 
lic proclamation,  that  any  one  found  guilty  of  utter- 
ing such  things  against  the  missionaries,  without 
proving  the  truth  of  the  charge,  should  be  called  to 
an  account.  Such  an  organized  opposition  to  the 
Gospel  was  really  among  the  proofs  of  its  progress. 
The  mission  made  decided  opposition  to  caste  in 


MADURA  MISSION.  ill 

the   year  1847,  and   seventy-two  who   persisted   in 
adhering-  to  it,  were,  on  one  occasion,  de-  0pp0,itl0n 
barred  from  the  privilege  of  coming  to  the  tocaste- 
Lord's  table  when  the  assembled  mission  commemo- 
rated his  death.     Thirty-eight  of  these  were  cate- 
chists. 

The   mission  was   enlarged   in   this   year  by  the 
arrival  of  Messrs.  John   E.  Chandler  and  „      .  . 

JSew  mission- 
George  Ford  and  their  wives,  and  of  Rev.   ane8' 

Charles  Little  and  wife  in  the  following  year,  and  of 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Shelton  in  March,  1849.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Scudder  returned  to  Madras  soon  after.  Mrs.  Lit- 
tle's labors  were  closed  by  death  on  the  4th  of  July 
in  the  year  of  her  arrival. 

A  station  at  Puthukotai,  formed  by  the  "  Indian 
Church   Missionary   Society"  at   Madras,  Transfer  of  a 
was  transferred  by  that  Society,  in  the  year  the  mission 
1846,  to  the  Madura  mission,  with  its  lands,  schools, 
and  catechists.     It  was  about  sixty  miles  northeast 
from  Madura,  on  the  road  to  Tanjore,  and  within 
the  territory  of  a  native  prince,  who  was  independ- 
ent  of   the   British   government.      But   after   two 
years,  owing  to  its  distance  and  the  consequent  dif- 
ficulty of  superintending  native   helpers,  together 
with  the  limited  amount  of  funds  that  could  be  ap- 
propriated  to    that    station,   the    mission  ^  ^^ 
voted  to  relinquish  it.     This  they  did  with  quished 
regret,  since  appearances  were  as  promising  there, 
as  in  other  parts  of  the  field. 


212  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

Dr.  Shelton,  the  missionary  physician,  reported 
Medical  eighteen  hundred  applicants  for  medical 
rea  men  treatment  in  1849.  To  all  these,  and  to 
their  friends  who  accompanied  them,  the  Gospel  was 
preached.     Some  of  the  patients  came  sixty  miles. 

In    that   year,  the    Seminary   at    Pasnmalai    was 
Revival  m      blessed  with  a  spiritual   awakening.     The 

the  Semi- 

narv-  apparent  origin  of  this  was  intelligence  of 

awakenings  in  the  seminaries  among  the  Nesto- 
rians  of  Persia.  Several  of  the  most  unpromising 
students  were  deeply  affected,  and  hopes  were  enter- 
tained of  the  conversion  of  a  considerable  number. 
Nine  were  admitted  to  the  church  at  the  close  of  the 
year.  The  native  church  was  much  quickened. 
Its  members  became  more  humble,  more  watchful 
against  sin,  and  more  diligent  iu  laboring  for  the 
good  of  others. 

We   read,   about    this   time,   of    students   called 
"  Preparandi."       These    were     promising 

Preparandi. 

young  men  under  the  personal  instruction 
of  missionaries.  It  was  a  step  iu  the  direction  of  a 
native  ministry. 

Mr.  Cherry  returned  to  the  United  States  in  1850, 

and  was  released,  at  his  owu  request,  from 

A  new  sta-  '  A  ' 

tion  his  connection  with  the  Board.     Mr.  Tay- 

lor commenced  a  new  station  at  Mandapasalai, 
thirty  miles  south  of  Madura,  it  being  more  central 
in  respect  to  his  village  congregations.  He  organ- 
ized a  church,  making  the  tenth    in   the    mission. 


MADURA  MISSION.  213 

For  the  year  1851  the  missionaries  reported,  that 
they  had  travelled  more  than  six  thousand  Itinerant 
miles  in  preaching  the  Gospel.  One  mis-  Preachin* 
sionary  reports  having-  visited  two  hundred  and 
thirty-five  different  villages.  The  number  of  per- 
sons connected  with  the  village  congregations  was 
2,471.  The  want  of  more  laborers  was  severely  felt, 
and  gave  rise  to  earnest  appeals. 

The  mission  had  now  extended  itself  so  as  to 
cover  a  territory  more  thau  one  hundred  Extentof 
miles  in  length,  and  over  sixty  in  breadth.  thcfield- 
But  the  stations  and  village  congregations  were  too 
much  scattered,  and  the  native  catechists  and  read- 
ers were  too  limited  in  their  education.  Seventy- 
two  persons  were  received  by  profession  to  the 
churches  during  the  year  1852,  of  whom  Admissions 

to  the 

fifty-six  were  adults  in  the  village  congre-  church. 
gations.     A  class  of  twelve  was  received  at  Pasu- 
malai,  nearly  all    from  the  congregations,   students  for 

the  minis- 
making  the  number  of  students  thirty-sev-   try. 

en,  of  whom  twenty  were  church  members.  There 
were  also  sixteen  young  men,  members  of  the  Prep- 
arandi  class.  They  lodged  in  a  room  by  themselves, 
but  took  their  food  with  the  members  of  the  Semi- 
nary. Bringing  them  together  from  the  different 
stations  was  believed  to  be  a  wise  measure.  Thus 
there  were  fifty-three  students  at  Pasumalai,  taken 
from    different   castes,  living   together   in   rt.. 

»  °  Other 

harmony.     Four  boarding-schools  for  boys,  scaoolfl- 


214  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

at  as  many  different  stations,  contained  eighty-eight 
pupils,  nearly  all  of  them  children  of  parents  con- 
nected with  the  village  congregations.  The  girls' 
boarding-school  at  Madura  contained  thirty-seven 
pupils,  all  of  whom  except  one  were  from  native 
The  medical  Christian  families.  Sixteen  hundred  pa- 
dispensary.  £}eil£s  applied  for  medical  treatment,  dur- 
ing the  year,  at  the  dispensary  under  the  care  of 
Dr.  Shelton. 

Two  men  were  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel  in 
1853,  one  of  whom  was  the  first  to  be  ordained,  two 
years  later,  as  a  native  pastor.  A  Native  Evangel- 
ical Society,  formed  in  October,  1853,  commenced 
active  operations  in  January,  1854,  under  favorable 
auspices. 

THE   JESUIT   MISSION. 

Here,  two  centuries  and  a  half  ago,  was  the  seat 
of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  Jesuit  missions  in 
India  ;  and  a  brief  account  of  their  efforts  is  needful 
to  a  full  understanding  of  the  field  as  occupied  by 
the  American  missionaries. 

In  1606,  Robert  de  Nobilibus,  a  Portuguese  Jesuit, 
mastered  the  Sanskrit  language,  and  the  manners 
and  usages  of  the  brahmins ;  and  fortified  by  a 
written  document,  which  must  have  been  forged  by 
some  one,  he  entered  Madura,  not  as  a  Portuguese, 
but  as  a  brahmin  of  high  sanctity  from  the  west, 
come  to  restore  the  ancient  forms  of  the  Hindu 
religion.     His   success  was  not  promising  at  first. 


MADURA  MISSION.  215 

The  chief  of  the  brahmins  charged  him,  in  a  large 
assembly  convened  for  the  purpose,  with  being  an 
impostor,  who  sought  to  deceive  the  people  by  lies, 
in  order  to  introduce  a  new  religion.  Whereupon 
Robert  de  Nobilibus  produced  his  written  scroll,  and 
protested,  under  an  oath  in  the  presence  of  them 
all,  that  he  had  verily  sprung  from  the  god  Brahma. 
Several  brahmins  then  arose,  overpowered  by  the 
evidence,  and  persuaded  their  brethren  not  to  per- 
secute a  man  who  called  himself  a  brahmin,  and 
proved  that  he  was  so  by  written  evidence  and  sol- 
emn q^ths,  as  well  as  by  conformity  to  their  man- 
ners, conduct,  and  dress.  Having  passed  this  ordeal, 
he  gave  himself  out  as  a  Sunniiisi,  or  devotee,  and 
kept  up  the  pretense  for  the  remainder  of  his  life. 
His  single  daily  meal  was  a  little  rice,  a  little  milk, 
and  some  bitter  vegetables ;  and  his  only  garments 
were  a  long  yellowish  robe,  a  veil,  a  turban,  and  a 
pair  of  clogs.  In  token  of  his  religion  and  caste, 
he  wore  a  cross  suspended  from  his  neck  by  five 
threads,  three  of  which  were  of  gold  and  symbolized 
the  Trinity,  while  the  other  two  were  of  silver,  and 
symbolized  the  body  and  soul  of  our  Lord.  Having 
obtained  a  piece  of  land  in  the  brahmins'  quarter, 
he  built  a  church  upon  it,  and  lived  there  for  a  time 
in  the  strictest  seclusion,  attended  by  brahmin  ser- 
vants alone,  and  observing",  in  the  minutest  particu- 
lars, the  customs  of  those  in  the  midst  of  whom  he 
sojourned.     His  fame  was  soon  noised  abroad.    Hin- 


216  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

dus  of  all  classes  thronged  the  gates,  in  the  hope  of 
being  admitted ;  and  the  few  who  were  successful 
found  him  seated  cross-legged  on  a  divan  covered 
with  a  red  cloth,  before  which  were  spread  a  carpet 
and  a  handsome  mat.  They  were  charmed  with  the 
affability  and  politeness  of  the  distinguished  teacher 
of  religion  ;  and  at  the  same  time  astonished  at  the 
purity  of  his  Tamil  accent,  the  profoundness  of  his 
oriental  learning,  and  the  versatility  of  his  intellect. 
His  popularity  soon  became  established  in  Madura, 
the  number  of  his  visitors  increased,  and  the  king 
sent  repeated  messages  inviting  him  to  the  palace, 
but  he  respectfully  declined.  Brahmins,  priests, 
rajahs,  courtiers,  professors,  men  of  the  best  castes, 
humbly  implored  the  great  Roman  guru  to  point 
out  to  them  the  way  of  salvation. 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  what  directions  Robert  de 
Nobilibus  could  have  given  them.  The  gurus  suf- 
fering a  great  loss  of  customary  fees  from  the  con- 
version of  so  many  of  their  disciples  to  the  new 
faith,  a  cloud  of  persecution  gathered  around  the 
mission,  but  it  soon  passed  away,  Robert  having  the 
protection  of  a  nobleman  who  took  great  delight  in 
his  society. 

After  about  five  years,  information  of  his  extraor- 
dinary proceedings  were  conveyed  to  Rome,  and  he 
was  suspended  from  his  office  by  the  Pope,  and  not 
permitted  to  resume  his  labors  for  ten  years.  The 
mission  was  carried  on,  in  this  interval,  by  men  of 
inferior  ability  and  enterprise. 


MADURA   MISSION.  217 

Meanwhile  the  mission  was  by  no  means  inactive, 
nor  did  it  change  its  method,  and  in  1623,  when 
Robert  de  Nobilibus  resinned  his  labors,  a  new  spirit 
was  infused  into  it.*  He  himself  preached  in  all  the 
more  important  towns  of  the  kingdom,  making-  many 
converts,  some  of  them  high  chiefs,  and  the  other 
Jesuit  missionaries,  stimulated  by  his  success,  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  work  of  proselyting.  Robert 
appears  to  have  left  Madura  in  the  year  1648,  after 
forty-two  years  of  service  in  the  mission,  of  which 
he  might  be  called  the  founder,  broken  in  health 
and  nearly  blind.  He  was  removed  first  to  Ceylon, 
and  then  to  the  neighborhood  of  Madras,  where  he 
died.  To  the  last  he  claimed  to  be  a  brahmin  of 
high  rank.  And  his  associates  and  successors  down 
to  the  year  1741,  through  considerably  more  than  a 
century,  were  able  to  keep  up  the  deception.  Among 
these  were  the  martyr  De  Britto,  one  of  the  more 
distinguished,  Tachard,  Bishop  Lainez,  Bouchet,  also 
distinguished,  Martin,  Turpin,  De  Bourges,  Mouduit, 
Calmette,  De  la  Fontaine,  Pere  le  Gac,  and  Beschi, 
the  last  and  most  learned  of  the  Jesuit  mission- 
aries.1 

The  chief  object  of  this  mission  was  the  conver- 
sion of  brahmins,  but  in  this  they  had  only  a  very 
partial  success.  They  gained  a  considerable  number 
of  Sudras,  but  the  bulk  of  their  converts  were  Pa- 
riahs, and,  for  prudential  reasons,  great  precaution 

1  Nelson's  Manual. 


218  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

was  used  in  their  intercourse  with  the  lower  castes. 
The  utmost  regard  was  paid  to  caste.  The  Pariahs 
had  separate  catechists,  and  separate  churches,  and 
if  they  presumed  to  enter  churches  of  a  higher 
caste,  they  were  violently  driven  out.  Even  when 
Pariahs  were  dying,  the  Christian  Sunnhisis  refused 
to  enter  their  dwellings,  and  the  dying  were  dragged 
into  the  open  air,  or  to  the  nearest  church,  that  the 
Sunniasi  might  administer  the  last  rites  of  the 
Church  without  contamination.1  Yet  they  reckoned 
their  converts  among  the  masses  by  tens  of  thou- 
sands, and  the  number  was  greatly  exaggerated  by 
counting  every  baptized  dying  child  among  their 
converts,  though  baptized  by  catechists  or  women, 
as  most  of  them  were,  and  without  the  knowledge 
of  their  parents.  The  missionaries  dressed,  bathed, 
ate,  and  demeaned  themselves  like  real  brahmins, 
wore  the  sacred  thread,  put  ashes  on  their  breasts 
and  foreheads,  wore  the  native  wooden  shoes,  and 
slept  upon  a  tiger  skin.  They  allowed  their  con- 
verts the  same  cars  and  idolatrous  processions  as 
before,  the  Virgin  Mary  taking  the  place  of  the 
Hindu  god.  Nor  was  there  any  material  change  in 
the  marriage  customs,  or  in  the  religious  formulas 
observed  in  their  bathing. 

It  should  be  added  that  the  Popes  from  the  year 
1623  to  1741,  during  more  than  a  hundred  years, 
tried  in  vain  to  put  an  end  to  these  abuses  of  the 

1   Calcutta  Review,  vol.  ii.  p.  95. 


MADURA    MISSION.  210 

Jesuits.  At  the  close  of  that  period,  as  a  conse- 
quence of  wars  between  the  French  and  English, 
the  natives  discovered  the  Roman  Sunniasis  to  be 
no  other  than  Feringees,  or  Franks.  The  dis- 
covery of  the  fraud  enraged  and  disgusted  the 
heathens,  and  put  an  immediate  stop  to  conversions, 
and  their  converts  rushed  by  crowds  into  apostasy. 
Twenty  years  later,  and  soon  after  the  suppression 
of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  those  who  still  professed  to 
be  Christians  in  Madura  were  described  by  a  Papal 
writer  as  living'  in  the  lowest  state  of  superstition 
and  ignorance.  The  account  he  gave  of  their  mor- 
als, especially  of  the  catechists  and  native  clergy, 
is  too  gross  for  transcription.  Their  number  had 
greatly  declined.  In  1776,  Fra  Paolino  da  San  Bar- 
tolomeo  found  only  18,000  in  Madura  and  10,000  in 
Tanjore.1 

The  generations  have  long  since  passed  away  upon 
whom  these  brahmin  Jesuits  operated,  and  it  is  not 
easy  to  estimate  their  influence  upon  the  Tamil  peo- 
ple of  the  present  time. 

1  Calcutta  Review,  vol.  ii.  pp.  95  and  115. 


CHAPTER   XT. 

TAMIL   PEOPLE   ON   THE   CONTINENT. 
THE   MADRAS   MISSION. 

1837-1864. 

This  mission  grew  out  of  representations  by  Mr. 

origin  of  the  Winslow,  while  on  a  visit  to  the  United 
mission.        gtates  in  lg34j  ag  to  tbe  probable  demand 

for  books  and  tracts  in  the  Tamil  missions.  He 
sailed  from  Philadelphia  in  the  next  year,  accom- 
panied by  the  Rev.  Robert  0.  Dwight,  and  by  several 
missionaries  •  of  the  Presbyterian  Board.  Messrs. 
Winslow  am]  Scudder  were  subsequently  designated 
by  the  Ceylon  Mission  to  commence  the  mission  at 
Madras,  it  having  been  ascertained  that  the  pro- 
posed mission  would  not  interfere  with  the  published 
plans  of  either  of  the  English  Missionary  Societies 
already  in  the  field.  The  population  of  the  city  then 
exceeded  four  hundred  thousand.  Mr.  Winslow  ar- 
rived in  August,  1836,  and  Dr.  Scudder  in  Septem- 
ber, and  it  was  arranged  that  Dr.  Scudder  should 
reside  at  Chintadrepettah,  a  suburb  southwest  of  the 
walled  town,  and  Mr.  Winslow  at  Royapuram  on  the 


MADRAS  MISSION,  221 

north.  Mrs.  Win  slow  became  a  victim  to  the  chol- 
era in  September,  1837.  She  was  gifted  DeathofMn. 
with  a  superior  intellect,  refined  by  educa-  "mslow 
tion  and  travel,  and  had  ample  means  for  living  at 
home  in  comfort.  But  she  went  joyfully  on  her  mis- 
sion, and  when  death  came  suddenly,  in  one  of  his 
most  distressing  forms,  he  was  regarded  as  a  mes- 
senger from  her  Lord,  and  she  regretted  none  of 
her  sacrifices. 

Dr.  Scudder  labored  fraternally  with  Mr.  Smith 
of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  and  a  j^,.,  ro_ 
revival  of  religion  was  the  consequence.  ceedinss- 
The  mission  had  sixteen  schools  containing  five  hun- 
dred pupils,  and  the  government  made  a  grant  of 
six  hundred  dollars  to  sustain  them  through  the 
commercial  distress  of  1837.  Besides  this,  the 
Governor  and  seven  others  gave  fifty  dollars  each. 
While  Dr.  Scudder  devoted  himself  chiefly  to  preach- 
ing tours  and  the  distribution  of  books  and  tracts, 
Mr.  Winslow  was  mainly  employed  on  a  revision  of 
the  Tamil  Scriptures,  and  in  conducting  a  magazine 
in  that  language.  The  committee  of  the  Auxiliary 
Bible  Society,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  had  com- 
pleted a  revision  of  the  Tamil  New  Testament,  and 
had  begun  upon  the  Old  Testament,  in  the  transla- 
tion of  which  Mr.  Rhenius,  of  the  Tinnevelly  mission, 
had  previously  made  considerable  progress.  The 
number  of  distinct  publications  then  existing  in  the 
Tamil  language,  was  estimated  at  about  two  hun- 
dred. 


222  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

All  opportunity  was  unexpectedly  offered,  in  the 
Purchase  of  yearj.838,  for  the  purchase  of  a  printing 
tabiishment.  establishment  belonging-  to  the  Church 
Missionary  Society.  It  consisted  of  eight  iron  print- 
ing- presses,  a  lithographic  press,  a  hydraulic  press, 
a  type-foundry,  a  book-bindery,  fifteen  fonts  of  Tamil, 
Telugu,  and  English  type,  and  one  in  Hindustauee. 
Mr.  Phineas  K.  Hunt  arrived  as  a  printer  in  1840, 
and  took  charge  of  the  establishment.  The  profits 
Amount  of  °^  ^he  J0^  printing  in  such  a  place  as 
printing.  Madras  were  considerable,  and  soon  repaid 
the  purchase  money.  The  printing  in  native  lan- 
guages from  June  1838  to  1841,  was  33,750,000 
pages,  a  large  part  of  which  were  selected  portions 
of  Scripture,  printed  at  the  expense  of  Bible  and. 
Tract  Societies. 

In  the  spring  of  1840,  the  two  brethren  made  a 
„     ..         tour  to  Conjeveram,  a  sacred  place  forty-six 

Preaching  "  r  j 

tours.  miles  southwest  of  Madras.     In  the  sum- 

mer, Dr.  Scudder  performed  another  tour  in  the 
Cuddalore  and  Tanjore  districts,  two  hundred  miles 
south.  In  the  autumn,  Mr.  Winslow  journeyed  west 
of  Madras  into  the  Mysore,  one  of  the  Protected 
States,  governed  by  a  Rajah.  This  immense  terrace 
of  table-land,  three  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  Mr.  Winslow  describes  as  a  splendid  coun- 
try, much  superior  to  that  on  the  coast,  and  cooler 
by  many  degrees  than  the  plains  below.  But  the 
Tamil  language  was  less  prevalent  than  the  Can  a- 


MADRAS  MISSION.  223 

rex-,  and   .several    places  were   already   occupied   by 
English  missionaries. 

It  was  probably  in  1841,  that  Dr.  Scudder  made 
a  visit   to  Vellore,  of  which  we    have   an   .  . 

*  Labors  at 

account  in  an  extract  from  his  journal.  Vellore 
There,  on  one  occasion,  he  took  his  position  at  a 
gateway  before  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning-,  and 
did  not  leave  it  until  six  in  the  evening-.  This 
laborious  service  was  performed  in  accordance  with 
his  rule,  not  to  give  a  copy  of  the  Scriptures  until 
the  recipient  presented  a  ticket  showing  that  he 
was  able  to  read.  He  used  two  kinds  of  tickets, 
one  testifying  to  an  examination  as  to  the  ability  to 
read,  the  other  a  permit  to  receive  books.  To  avoid 
pressure  from  the  crowd,  it  was  necessary  to  give  out 
his  tickets  from  a  seat  above  the  people.  Fifteen 
hundred  Gospels  and  a  large  number  of  tracts  were 
thus  distributed  at  Vellore. 

Protracted  journeys,  in   a  debilitatiug  climate  at 
length  broke  down  the  vigorous  constitu-   n  .,  .  „ 

o  °  Penis  in  the 

tion  of  Dr.  Scudder,  and  his  physician  wilderness- 
advised  him  to  visit  America  as  affording  him  the 
only  hope  of  life.  Previous  to  this,  however,  in 
order  to  accomplish  an  object  which  greatly  inter- 
ested him,  he  crossed  the  Neilgherries.  Some  part 
of  the  journey  subjected  him  to  perils  from  wild 
beasts,  and,  worse  than  all,  from  the  pestiferous  at- 
mosphere of  the  jungle.  He  contracted  the  jungle 
fever,  and  his  life  was  so  seriously  threatened  that 


224  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

intelligence  was  sent  to  Mrs.  Scudder.  The  heroic 
woman,  though  in  no  condition  personally  for  such 
a  journey,  provided  herself  with  a  tent,  palankeen, 
and  provisions,  and  travelled  night  and  day  with  only 
a  faint  hope  of  finding  her  husband  alive.  "  In  the 
worst  part  of  the  jungle  road,  as  night  drew  on, 
the  palankeen  bearers,  frightened  by  the  noise  of 
wild  beasts,  fled,  leaving  Mrs.  Scudder  and  her  little 
son  exposed  to  a  horrid  death,  with  none  to  protect 
them  but  Daniel's  God.  What  could  she  do?  She 
held  her  little  one  by  the  hand,  and  spent  much  of 
the  night  in  prayer.  She  heard  the  heavy  tread 
of  wild  elephants,  which  could  have  trampled  her 
and  her  son  to  death.  Then  came  the  growl  of 
ravenous  beasts,  the  sound  approaching  and  then 
receding.  They  seemed  to  be  circling  round  the 
little  spot ;  but  God  held  them  back.  So  they 
passed  the  night.  Morning  came,  and  the  cowardly 
bearers  returned."  1 

The  voyage  to  America  was  unexpectedly  bene- 
ficial, and  Dr.  Scudder  resolved,  on  his  ar- 

Visit  to  ' 

America.  rjvaj  jn  j§42,  to  devote  himself  to  an  un- 
remitted effort  for  awakening  a  missionary  spirit 
among  the  rising  generation  of  his  native  land. 
For  three  years  he  was  constantly  employed  in  this 
work,  until  he  had  addressed  over  a  hundred  thou- 
sand children.2     The  interest  thus  awakened  in  the 

1  Memoir  of  Rev.  John  Scudder,  M.  D.,  p.  178. 
a  Ibid.  p.  178. 


amissions 
to  the 


MADRAS  MISS /OX.  225 

youthful  mind  of  the  country,  and  its  results,  can  he 
fully  known  only  when  the  secrets  of  all  hearts  shall 
he  revealed. 

Twenty-one  natives  were  admitted  to  the  church 
at  Madras  in  1841  and  1842,  making  the  Adn 
whole  number  twenty-eight.  About  this  church. 
time,  a  church  edifice  was  erected  at  Kovapiiram, 
chiefly  by  donations  in  the  city  and  vicinity.  Mr. 
Hutchings  removed  from  Ceylon  to  Madras   r„ 

~  J  Literary  and 

to  assist  in  the  preparation  and  publication  otuer  1;lbors- 
of  a  Tamil  and  English  Dictionary,  which  had  been 
begun  by  Mr.  Knight  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society.  Mr.  Hutchings  took  charge  of  Royapurain, 
and  Mr.  Winslow  removed  to  Chintadrepettah,  where 
he  opened  a  boarding-school  for  girls  of  the  higher 
castes.  Mr.  Ferdinand  D.  W.  Ward  removed  from 
the  Madura  mission  to  Madras  in  1843,  and  Mr. 
Hutchings,  with  health  seriously  impaired,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  United  States.  His  place  at  Madras 
was  supplied,  in  the  following  May,  by  Mr.  Henry 
Martyn  Scudder,  eldest  son  of  Dr.  Scudder.  The  first 

missionary 

He  was  the  first  missionary  son  sent  forth  son. 
by  the  Board.  His  birth-place  was  in  Ceylon,  and 
having  spoken  the  Tamil  language  in  his  boyhood, 
it  returned  to  him  like  a  forgotten  dream,  so  that 
he  was  preaching  to  the  natives  five  months  after 
his  arrival.  Mr.  Winslow  had  married  Miss  Anne 
Spears  in  the  year  1838,  daughter  of  a  gentleman 
connected  with  the  Madras  medical  service.     After 

15 


226  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

an  exemplary  life,  she  was  suddenly  removed  by 
death  on  the  20th  of  June,  1843. 

More  than  seven  millions  of  pages  were  printed 
„    ,    ..        in  that  year,  and  the  number  from  the  be- 

Prouuctions  J  ' 

of  the  p^.  g^^g  was  53,697,766.  The  demand  for 
printing"  was  on  the  increase,  not  only  in  the 
Tamil  language,  but  in  the  Telugu  and  Canarese, 
spoken  by  large  communities  north  and  west  of 
Madras.  Among-  the  published  works  were  a  news- 
paper and  magazine,  both  in  the  Tamil  language. 
The  latter  was  at  first  monthly,  then  semi-monthly. 
A  uniform  edition  of  six  thousand  copies  of  the 
Tamil  Scriptures,  in  one  volume,  was  completed 
at  the  close  of  1844,  with  the  headings  and  chro- 
nology according  to  the  English  authorized  version, 
and  with  references. 

Early  in  the  following  year,  the  mission  took  meas- 
confiictwith  ures  t°  test  the  power  of  caste  in  the 
caste  church,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  sus- 

pend five  of  the  male  members.  Their  wives  were 
also  members,  but  did  not  follow  them,  and  the  men 
all  came  forward,  after  some  months,  and  agreed  to 
renounce  the  distinctions  of  caste. 

Among  evidences  of  the  advancing  power  of 
Heathen  op-  Christian  truth,  was  the  increased  opposi- 
position.  ^on  from  ^he  heat]ien.  This  was  occa- 
sionally seen  in  the  breaking  forth  of  riotous  con- 
duct, carried  as  far  as  a  fear  of  the  magistrates 
would  permit.     An  anti-Christian  society  existed  at 


MADRAS  MISSION.  227 

Madras,  and,  by  means  of  a  newspaper,  tracts,  lec- 
tures and  agents,  exerted  much  influence  on  the  in- 
terior villages.    It  was  a  deeply  interesting*  Enlightened 

policy  of  the 

fact,  however,  that  the  government  was  goToniment. 
adopting  a  more  humane  and  liberal  policy.  It  de- 
clared that  all  religions  professed  by  its  subjects 
would  be  equally  tolerated  and  protected ;  and,  con- 
trary to  what  had  been  the  law  of  the  land,  that  the 
Hindu  might  embrace  Christianity  and  break  caste 
without  the  forfeiture  of  property,  or  any  of  his 
civil  rights. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Scudder  returned  from  the  United 
States  to  Madras  in  March,  1847,  and  went  The  misgioa 
immediately  to  Madura,  as  was  related  in  reinforced- 
the  history  of  the  Madura  mission.  A  generous 
subscription  of  nearly  two  thousand  dollars  was 
made  by  English  residents  at  Madras  toward  the 
erection  of  a  house  of  worship  at  Chiutadrepettah, 
which  was  opened  for  use  in  1848.  The  congrega- 
tions at  the  two  stations  were  each  estimated  at  five 
hundred,  but  many  must  have  been  children  from 
the  schools.  The  Rev.  John  W.  Dulles,  who  had 
married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Winslow,  arrived  at  Mad- 
ras in  1849,  and  in  the  same  year  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Scudder  returned  from  Madura.  Henry  Martvn, 
their  sou  already  mentioned,  had  been  residing  at 
Madras  as  a  missionary  since  the  year  1844.1 

1  Six  others  of  the  sons  became  missionaries  in  the  land  of  their 
birth,  and  the  two  daughters  married  English  gentlemen  residing  on 
the  Neilffherries. 


228  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

On  the  19th  of  November  Mrs.  Scudder  died, 
Death  of       after  a  brief  illness.    She  was  a  rare  woman, 

Mrs.  Scud- 
der. and  her  husband  hardly  recovered  from  the 

shock  occasioned  by  her   decease.      She   had  been 

thirty  years  connected  with  the  India  missions. 

Henry  had  qualified  himself  in  a  government  in- 
The  father  stitutiou  to  assist  his  father  in  the  medical 
department.  Renting  a  house  in  the  most 
populous  portion  of  the  city,  they  preached  in  the 
yard  or  in  the  street  to  such  as  could  be  induced  to 
listen,  and  thus  proclaimed  the  Gospel  to  many  thou- 
sands. They  also  put  in  circulation  a  great  number 
of  Tamil  and  Telugu  books  and  tracts. 

Mr.  Win  slow  spent  five  hours  each  day,  during 
»,   „.         four  months  of  the  year,  with  a  committee 

Mr.  Wins-  J  ' 

low's  labors.  Qf  revjsjon  on  the  historical  and  prophetic 
parts  of  the  Tamil  Scriptures,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  remaining  time,  twice  a  week,  with  one  of 
the  members  of  the  committee,  on  the  poetical 
books.  When  not  thus  engaged,  he  was  occupied 
three  hours  daily  with  a  moonshee,  on  the  Tamil 
and  English  Dictionary  already  mentioned. 

The  new  version  of  the  Tamil  Bible  was  corn- 
New  version    pleted   in   November,  1850.     It   had  been 

of  the  Tamil 

Bible.  in  hand  three  years,  and  for  two  years  the 

united  labors  of  Messrs.  Percival  and  Spaulding  of 
Jaffna,  Brotherton  of  the  Church  of  England,  and 
Winslow  of  Madras,  had  been  devoted  to  it,  most  of 
the  time   daily   except   on   the   Sabbaths.     It   was 


MADRAS  MISSION.  229 

thought,  in  accuracy,  conciseness,  elegance,  and 
idiomatic  correctness,  to  be  a  great  advance  on  any- 
thing that  had  gone  before.  Printed  in  new  small 
pica  type,  in  one  royal  octavo  volume,  it  was  much 
admired. 

In  March,  1851,  the  younger  Dr.  Scudder  com- 
menced a  new  station  at  Arcot,  seventy  Newst.ltion 
miles  west  of  Madras,  on  the  road  to  Ban-  atArcot- 
galore,  and  was  then  the  only  missionary  between 
Madras  and  Bangalore,  a  region  full  of  cities,  towns, 
villages,  and  hamlets ;  and  he  found  it  an  interesting 
field. 

Mr.  Isaac  N.  Hurd  and  wife  joined  the  mission  in 
July,  1852,  but  Mrs.  Hurd  died  in  the  January  fol- 
lowing.    Failure  of  health  obliged  Mr.  and 

Summary. 

Mrs.  Dulles  to  return  to  the  United  States 
in  the  autumn  of  1852.  The  missionary  labors  were 
similar  in  each  succeeding  year.  There  were  four 
places  for  stated  preaching,  with  congregations  at 
two  of  the  stations  of  from  two  hundred  to  four 
hundred  and  fifty.  The  membership  in  the  two 
churches  was  forty-five.  The  printing,  in  1853,  was 
27,813,246  pages,  nearly  half  of  them  pages  of  the 
Bible.  The  free  vernacular  schools  were  twelve, 
with  three  hundred  and  twenty  boys  and  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  girls.  The  English  and  ver- 
nacular school  contained  two  hundred  pupils.  The 
children  of  the  schools  all  attended  public  worship 
and  Sabbath  school  instruction. 


230  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

The  older  Dr.  Scudder  had  become  so  reduced  iu 
Death  of  Dr  nealth,  that  in  the  summer  of  1854  he  was 
scudder.  induced  to  try  the  effect  of  a  voyage  to  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  He  was  accompanied  by  his 
son  Joseph,  who,  with  Henry  and  William,  had  com- 
menced a  separate  mission  at  Arcot.  In  the  sa- 
lubrious region  of  the  Cape  his  health  was  appar- 
ently much  benefited,  and  he  commenced  preaching 
with  his  usual  earnestness  to  the  children,  crowds 
of  whom  flocked  to  hear  him.  He  had  eng-aj^ed  his 
return  passage,  when,  on  the  13th  of  January,  1855, 
he  passed  while  sleeping  into  an  apoplectic  state, 
and  soon  slept  in  death.  He  was  in  the  sixty-second 
year  of  his  age,  and  the  thirty-sixth  of  his  mission- 
ary life. 

Nothing  more  need  be  said  to  illustrate  the  life 
and  character  of  Dr.  Scudder,  as  a  missionary.  His 
aim  was  single,  his  labors  indefatigable,  and  it  is 
presumed  his  energies  could  not  have  found  a  more 
ample  scope. 

Mr.  Winslow's  health  was  so  impaired  in  the  year 
Mr  winsiow  1855,  that  his  brethren  of  the  Deputation, 
united"16  then  at  Madras,  advised  him  to  visit  his 
native  land,  which  he  did  early  in  the  next 
year.  Mr.  Hurd  now  took  charge  of  the  English 
high  school ;  and  being  able  to  give  more  time  to 
the  school  than  Mr.  Wiuslow  had  done,  the  number 
of  students  increased,  and  there  was  greater  activity 
both  in  teachers  and  pupils.  In  April  there  were 
five  additions  to  the  church. 


MADRAS  MISSION.  231 

It  had  been  arranged,  in  1855,  to  sell  the  English 
portion  of  the  printing  establishment ;  and  R,.,lll(,tlonof 

/.,  i  l      the  printing 

its  continuance  was  soon    atter   rendered  eetabiish- 

n.  ,     ment. 

impracticable  by  the  large  wages   ottered 

to  English  type-setters  by  the  government  press. 

Mr.  Winslow  returned  to  his  post  early  in  1858 
with  his  wife.  They  were  married  in  Boston  just 
before  their  departure,  and  were  cordially  welcomed 
by  their  missionary  and  native  friends.  The  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity  had  been  conferred  upon  him 
by  Harvard  College. 

Both  Dr.  Winslow  and  Mr.  Hurd  now  found,  that 
the  policy  of  the  government  in  giving  both  an  Eng- 
lish and  vernacular  education  to  the  Hindus  in  that 
Presidency,  seriously  affected  the  mission  schools. 
Many  boys  came  only  to  commence  English  studies 
preparatory  to  entering  the  government  school,  and 
then  to  become  qualified,  after  two  or  three  years, 
for  some  position  under  government.  It  was  ob- 
served, too,  that  the  lads  in  the  school  took  much 
less  interest  in  the  study  of  the  Bible.  Mr.  Hunt, 
the  printer,  represents  the  change  of  the  Influence  of 

i  •  ".,„■(-:       the  press. 

press,  making  it  a  purely  missionary  insti- 
tution, as  exceedingly  gratifying  to  himself  and  to 
all  the  friends  of  missions  in  that  region.  The 
Madras  Bible  Society  bore  testimony  to  "  the  im- 
portant service  it  had  rendered  to  the  circulation  of 
the  Bible  by  the  improved  typography  of  the  ver- 
nacular Scriptures ;  a  result  entirely  due  to  the  ex- 


232  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

ertions  of  Mr.  Hunt,  its  indefatigable  superintend- 
ent." The  printing-  of  the  Scriptures  in  that  year 
amounted  to  14,353,536  pages  in  Tamil,  and  to 
The  Tamil  3,440,000  in  Telugu.  The  "  clear,  correct, 
Blble'  and  beautiful  editions  of  the  Tamil  Bible, 

each  edition  excelling"  the  previous  one,  called  forth 
the  admiration  and  merited  the  gratitude  of  all  na- 
tive Christians." 

Dr.  Win  slow  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing1  the  Tamil 
and  English  Dictionary  completed  in  1862. 

Completion  °  J  I 

ana  English  It  contained  nearly  a  thousand  pages,  and 
T*  67,452  words ;  30,551  more  than  Rottler's 
Dictionary,  and  900  more  than  the  Tamil  Diction- 
ary published  in  Jaffna.  It  was  said  to  be  the  most 
elaborate  and  complete  Dictionary  hitherto  prepared 
in  any  of  the  languages  of  India,  next  to  the  San- 
skrit Lexicon  of  Professor  Wilson.1 

A  pocket  edition  of  the  whole  Tamil  Bible  was 
pocket  e.n-  issued  about  this  time,  in  fine  morocco 
Bible.  binding,    and   was   in    great   demand.      A 

popular  edition  of  the  New  Testament  had  prepared 
the  way  for  it. 

The  time  had  now  come  when  the  Head  of  the 
Church  saw  fit  to  call  to  Himself  the  ven- 
erable originator  and  only  clerical  member 
of  the  mission.  After  fruitless  endeavors  at  the 
Hills   to  recover  health,  broken  down  by  incessant 

1  For  a  history  of  this  Dictionary,  and  for  testimonials  as  to  its 
merits,  see  Missionary  Herald  for  1863,  p.  130. 


Death  of  Dr. 
Wiuslow. 


MADRAS  MISSION.  233 

labors,  Dr.  Winslow  embarked  with  his  wife  on  the 
20th  of  August,  1864,  for  the  United  States,  and 
reached  Cape  Town  on  the  20th  of  October,  but  in 
an  exhausted  condition.  He  died  on  the  22d  of  that 
month,  two  days  after  his  arrival,  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-five. A  frequent  expression  of  his  during  his 
last  days  was,  "Great  is  my  peace.  "And  well 
might  it  be  great.  He  was  closing  a  long  life  of 
devoted  service  to  his  Lord  and  Master,  and  could 
not  but  feel  assured  that  he  was  near  his  eternal 
home. 

In  early  life  he  had  published  a  "  History  of 
Missious,"  which  interested  and  bene-  HiBCharac_ 
fited  the  churches  of  his  native  land,  and  ter' 
must  have  done  much  to  strengthen  his  own  faith 
in  the  work.  He  entered  India  in  1819,  and  his 
subsequent  missionary  life  wanted  only  five  years  of 
half  a  century.  He  could  look  on  his  closing  career 
in  much  the  same  manner  as  did  the  Apostle  to  the 
Gentiles. 

Dr.  Winslow  was  below  the  medium  stature,  but 
had  a  comely  person,  a  dignified  and  courteous  bear- 
ing, and  was  eminently  a  practical  man  ;  and  a  lead- 
ing influence  was  cheerfully  accorded  to  him  among 
his  brethren.  For  many  years  he  was  Secretary  of 
the  Revision  and  Publication  Committee  of  the 
Madras  Bible  Society ;  and  was  remarkable  for  the 
patient,  persevering,  unremitted  thought  he  gave  to 
the  translation  and  revision  of  the  Scriptures.    And 


234  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

his  untiring-  labors  on  the  Tamil  and  English  Dic- 
tionary did  not  less  really  subserve  the  cause  of  his 
Lord  and  Saviour.1 

Mrs.  Wiuslow  returned  to  her  native  land  ;  and 
the  declining-  health  of  Mr.  Hunt,  in  the  climate  of 
India,  brought  him  and  Mrs.  Hunt  home  also.  As 
they  were  the  only  remaining  missionaries  of  this 
field,  the  question  was  necessarily  raised  whether 
the  object  of  the  mission  had  not  been  attained. 

This,  as  the  reader  will  remember,  was  to  become 
sai,.  of  the     a  printing   and   publishing   establishment 

establish- 

ment.  for  the  benefit  of  the  Tamil  race  ;  and  Mr. 

Hunt  had  managed  it  very  successfully  for  twenty- 
six  years,  with  that  end  constantly  in  view.  From 
July,  1838,  to  December,  1864,  the  printing  amount- 
ed to  228,417,018  pages  of  Scripture;  105,993,026 
pages  of  tracts ;  and  110,206,376  of  other  works; 
making  a  grand  total  of  444,617,020  pages.  Mr. 
Hunt  believed  it  was  no  longer  advisable  for  -the 
Board  to  own  a  large  printing  establishment  at 
Madras,  and  that  its  appropriate  work  bad  been  so 
far  accomplished,  as  to  warrant  the  sale  of  the  es- 
tablishment. The  English  department  had  been 
disposed  of  some  years  before.  The  remaining  por- 
tion was  now  purchased  by  the  Society  for  Promot- 
ing Christian  Knowledge. 

The  Chiutadrepettah  station  was  transferred  to  the 

1  See  a  brief  Memoir  of  Dr.  Winslow  in  the  Missionary  Herald  for 
March,  1865,  pp.  G5-69. 


MADRAS  MISSION.  235 

Church  Missionary  Society,  and  the  church  building 

at    Koyapiiram   to   the   Medical    Mission-  Discontinu- 
ance of  tue 
ary  Society  of  Edinburgh.     The  dwelling-   mfasiou. 

house  at  Royapuram  was  reserved  for  the  conven- 
ience of  brethren  of  the  Tamil  missions  when  they 
might  have  occasion  to  be  at  Madras,  and  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  Madura  mission. 

The  number  of  persons  received  into  the  church 
at  Madras  had  been  about  one  hundred  Slimmary 
and  fifty ;  and  hundreds  upon  hundreds  of  v 
children  and  youth,  of  both  sexes,  had  been  taught 
to  read  the  Scriptures.  It  was  no  backward  move- 
ment, no  retreat,  and  no  pecuniary  sacrifice  to  trans- 
fer the  property  now  into  the  hands  of  other  faithful 
men,  who  could  labor  to  better  advantage  in  that 
field. 

Mr.  Hunt  having  been  requested  to  take  charge  of 
the  mission  press  at  Peking,  the  metropolis  Mr.  nunfs 

change  of 

of  China,  his  response  was,  after  thirty  years  designation. 
of  similar  labors  in  India  ;  "  Without  hesitation, 
and  with  pure  delight,  I  accept  the  proposed  ap- 
pointment to  the  North  China  Missiou,  as  a  mis- 
sionary printer." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    TAMIL   PEOPLE. 
THE   ARCOT   MISSION. 

1851-1857. 

The  commencement  of  a  station  at  Arcot  by  Dr. 
Henry  Martyn  Scudder,  has  been  already  mentioned. 
It  was  in  1851,  after  lie  had  been  seven  years  con- 
nected with  the  Madras  mission.  He  found  his 
newly  acquired  medical  skill  a  good  introduction  to 
him  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  His  command  of 
the  language,  moreover,  with  a  natural  facility  of 
expression,  attracted  crowds  about  him  when  preach- 
ing in  the  streets  of  Arcot.  Mr.  William  VV.  Scud- 
der, a  brother,  after  a  connection  of  five  years  with 
the  Ceylon  mission,  was  transferred  to  Arcot  in 
1853.  Joseph,  another  brother,  arrived  at  the  close 
of  that  year,  and  Ezekiel  C.  and  Jared  W.,  two  other 
brothers,  and  also  a  sister,  joined  the  company  in 
March,  1856.  Mr.  W.  W.  Scudder  was  bereaved  at 
Madras  on  the  20th  of  September,  1854,  as  he  had 
been  in  the  year  1848  while  connected  with  the 
Ceylon  mission.     He  had  but  recently  returned  from 


ARCOT  MISSION.  237 

America  with  his  wife,  and  her  death  was  a  great 
affliction  to  the  mission,  where  she  was  much  loved 
as  a  friend  and  fellow-laborer. 

The  mission  occupied  the  North  Arcot  District, 
which  had  a  population  of  more  than  a  million  of 
souls.  The  Gospel  Propagation  Society  having  with- 
drawn from  Vellore  and  Chittur,  committed  their  con- 
gregations to  the  care  of  the  new  mission,  it  being 
the  only  missionary  body  in  the  district.  The  sta- 
tions were  at  Vellore,  Chittur,  and  Arnee.  The  com- 
municants at  Vellore  were  twenty-seven,  at  Chittur 
forty-two,  and  six  at  Arnee,  making  seventy-five  in 
all ;  of  whom  forty  had  been  communicants  in  the 
congregations  of  the  English  Society.  The  brethren 
of  the  mission  having  all  been  born  in  India,  of  emi- 
nently missionary  parents,  and  having  been  judi- 
ciously permitted  to  learn  the  spoken  language  at 
an  early  age,  had  as  a  mission  preeminently  the 
power  of  using  the  spoken  language  in  preaching 
the  Gospel,  and  the  bias  of  their  minds  was  in  that 
direction.  "  We  make  it  our  chief  duty,"  they 
say,  "to  go  into  the  streets  of  the  towns  and  vil- 
lages of  our  District,  holding  up  Christ  and  him 
crucified  as  the  only  hope  of  the  sinner.  This  work 
has  been  extensively  carried  on  by  the  missionaries 
and  catechists.  The  Gospel  has  been  fully  preached 
in  almost  every  street  of  our  stations.  We  have 
also  been  on  several  extended  tours,  declaring  to 
all  that  there   is   none  other  name  under  heaven 


238  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

given  among-  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved,  except 
that  of  Jesus  Christ.  A  great  number  of  adults, 
varying  from  five  to  thirty  a  day,  have  visited  the 
station  for  books  and  tracts.  To  all  these  the  Gos- 
pel has  been  preached  and  portions  of  God's  Word 
distributed."  There  were  also  six  schools  for  chil- 
dren of  professed  and  nominal  Christians,  contain- 
ing one  hundred  and  five  pupils.  "  The  chief  object 
of  our  mission,"  add  the  brethren,  "being  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel,  we  cannot  establish  schools  for 
heathen  children.  We  have  not  the  time  nor  the 
means  to  enter  upon  this  work,  which  more  properly 
belongs  to  those  who  have  the  charge  of  the  secular 
interests  of  the  Hindus.  It  is  otherwise  with  Chris- 
tian children.  They  belong  to  us.  Many  of  them 
are  the  baptized  offspring  of  our  church.  We  are 
under  special  obligations  to  them.  We  must  see 
that  they  are  thoroughly  educated  in  the  Scriptures, 
that  they  are  elevated  above  the  ignorance  of  the 
mass  of  the  people,  that  they  are  kept  as  much  as 
possible  from  the  influence  of  heathenism,  and  that 
all  means  are  used  to  secure  their  purity  and  intelli- 
gence. Our  object  is  not  to  bestow  upon  them  the 
elegancies  of  a  foreign  education.  We  therefore 
instruct  them  only  through  the  vernacular  lan- 
guages. We  strive  to  impart  to  them  that  educa- 
tion, which  shall  under  God's  blessing  make  them 
useful  men  and  useful  Christians." 

A  railway  was  running  from  Madras  to  Arcot,  and 


ARCOT  MISSION.  239 

was  in  progress  towards  Cunur.  A  congregation 
had  been  gathered  at  this  place  by  Rev.  P.  P. 
Schaffter  during  a  temporary  residence  on  the  Neil- 
gherry  Hills,  and  was  transferred,  with  a  school- 
house,  by  W.  H.  Stanes,  Esq.,  to  Mr.  Joseph  Scud- 
der,  whose  health  obliged  him  to  resort  to  the  Hills 
in  1856. 

There  was  a  Preparandi  Class  in  the  mission  of 
baptized  lads,  of  whom  two  were  communicants,  to 
be  trained  with  a  special  reference  to  becoming 
helpers  and  preachers.  In  December,  1856,  these 
accompanied  the  missionaries  on  a  tour  of  about 
three  hundred  miles.  "  We  might  have  a  thousand 
scholars,"  say  the  mission,  "but  numbers  are  not 
our  object.  Government  is  making  ample  provision 
for  the  mental  training*  of  heathen  youth.  Our  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  pupils,  with  a  very  few 
exceptions,  have  been  dedicated  to  the  Lord  in  bap- 
tism. We  regard  with  interest  this  little  band 
educated  chiefly  in  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  To 
it  we  look  for  our  future  schoolmasters,  catechists, 
aud  even  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  Our  system  of 
education  is  such  as  to  give  no  cause  of  fear  that, 
as  soon  as  fitted  for  usefulness  in  the  mission,  they 
will  hasten  to  accept  higher  salaries  in  secular  em- 
ployments. The  English  language  is  not  taught, 
and  yet  we  find  no  difficulty  in  communicating  truth 
in  its  various  departments  to  these  youths  in  their 
own  tongue." 


240  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

Two  new  churches  were  organized  this  year  at 
Arcot  and  Cuniir,  making  the  whole  number  five, 
and  a  commodious  church  edifice  was  completed  at 
Vellore.  The  contributions  from  residents  in  India 
during  that  year,  not  including  two  hundred  dollars 
for  the  Poor  Fund,  exceeded  a  thousand  dollars. 

The  perfectly  amicable  connection  which  had  sub- 
sisted between  the  American  Board  and  the  General 
Synod  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  since  the  year 
1832,  was  terminated  by  mutual  agreement  in  1857,1 
and  the  members  of  the  Arcot  mission  were  soon 
after  released,  at  their  own  request,  from  their  con- 
nection with  the  Board.  The  mission  has  continued 
to  be  successfully  prosecuted  under  the  direction  of 
the  Board  of  Missions  of  the  Reformed  Church. 

1  See  Report  of  the  Board  for  1857,  pp.  20-25. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

the  mahratta  and  tamil  missions. 

missionary  conferences. 

1854  and  1855. 

For  the  first  forty  years,  no  executive  officer  of 
the  American  Board  had    opportunity  for  „      . 

11  J  Necessity   of 

personal  conference  with  the  missionaries  ^knowl. 
in    India.      A    more   varied    and    perfect  infii, liU' 
knowledge     than    was     attainable     either 
through  letters  or  the  visits  of  missionaries  to  their 
native  land,  at  length  became  necessary.     The  Pru- 
dential Committee  of  the  Board  appoiuted  IIence  the 
the  author,  then    Foreign    Secretary,  and  ^utation- 
the  Rev.  Augustus  C.  Thompson,  D.D.,  a  member  of 
the  Committee,  to  go  as  their  representatives  on  a 
visit  specially  to  the  missions  in  India  and  Ceylon. 
E.  B.  Underbill,  Esq.,  Secretary  and  representative 
of  the  English  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  on  a  sim- 
ilar errand,  was  a  fellow-passenger  with  them  from 
England. 

Those  whose  posts  of  duty  are  at  the  centres  of 
missionary  operations  must  be  better  situ-  Advantages 

in  central 

ated,  iu  some  respects,  than  the  members  positions. 
16 


When  visits 
are  desirable. 


242  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

of  any  one  mission,  for  obtaining-  comprehensive 
practical  views  of  missionary  principles  and  testing* 
their  value.  They  see  those  principles  tried  in  per- 
haps a  score  of  missions,  and  under  a  variety  of  cir- 
cumstances ;  and  the  same  is  true  with  respect  to 
plans  and  measures.  Generally,  they  can  gain  all 
needful  information  through  written  correspondence 
and  personal  intercourse  with  missionaries  visiting 
their  native  land.  But  complications  sometimes 
arise  in  older  missions,  making  it  needful  that  some 
member  or  members  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee should  go  upon  the  ground,  and 
confer  with  their  brethren  face  to  face.  Written 
correspondence  across  ten  thousand  miles,  is  a  slow 
process;  and  there  are  sometimes  misunderstand- 
ings, which  greatly  retard  desirable  results,  and 
even  prevent  them,  when  a  few  days  or  weeks  of 
familiar  personal  conference  would  suffice  to  bring 
them  about,  to  the  gratification  of  all  concerned. 

The  Deputation  landed  at  Bombay  on  the  2d  of 
intercourse  November,  1854 ;  and  spent  seventy-two 
missions.  days  in  the  Mahratta  mission,  fifty  in  the 
Madura  mission,  sixty-five  in  Ceylon,  twenty-one  at 
Madras,  and  twelve  at  Arcot.  Dr.  Thompson's  pas- 
toral relations  making  it  necessary  for  him  to  re- 
turn, he  embarked  at  Madras  on  the  10th  of  July, 
and  reached  home,  by  way  of  Syria,  October  27, 
1855,  after  an  absence  from  his  people  of  one  year 
and  a  quarter.     The  other  member  of  the  Deputa- 


MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES.  243 

tion  subsequently  spent  twenty-four  days  in  Cal- 
cutta, fourteen  in  the  Syria  mission,  forty-six  in  the 
Armenian,  visiting-  Kessab,  Antioch,  Aleppo,  Aintab, 
and  Constantinople,  and  reached  home  on  the  15th 
of  January,  1856,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  one 
year  and  a  half. 

The  course  pursued  was,  to  hold  a  Conference 
with  each  mission,  continued  from  day  to  proceedings 
dav  so  long-  as  seemed  needful  for  the  full  ference. 
discussion  of  matters  demanding"  attention.  At  the 
opening  of  each  Conference,  after  prayer  and  the 
choice  of  officers,  committees  were  appointed  on 
business  and  devotional  exercises,  and  the  Deputa- 
tion read  a  list  of  the  topics  which  they  desired 
should  receive  special  attention.  These  were  re- 
ferred to  the  business  committee,  who  reported  the 
names  of  those  persons  to  whom  each  topic  should 
be  assigned.  In  no  case,  however,  was  a  report  to 
be  presented  until  the  subject  had  been  fully  con- 
sidered in  the  general  meeting. 

The   proceedings  of  these   conferences,  and   the 
letters  of  the  Deputation  to  the   several  Printing  of 

the   proceed- 

missions,  were  printed  in  India,  for  the  use#  inss- 
of  the  missions  and  of  the  Prudential  Committee 
at  home.  They  make  a  volume  of  about  four  hun- 
dred octavo  pages.  To  these  were  afterwards  added 
proceedings  of  the  conferences  at  Beirut  and  Con- 
stantinople, the  Report  of  the  Deputation  to  flic 
Board,  and  the  Report  of  the  Committee  of  Thir- 


244  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

teen,  appointed  by  the  Board,  at  its  Special  Meeting 
in  Albany  to  investigate  and  report  on  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  Deputation,  making  two  hundred  pages 
more.  Of  this  volume  Dr.  Mullens,  then  a  mission- 
ary at  Calcutta,  and  now  Foreign  Secretary  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society,  says,  in  the  published 
Report  of  the  Liverpool  Conference  :  "  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say,  that  no  volume  of  equal  size,  published 
during  the  era  of  our  modern  missions,  contains  so 
much  valuable  information,  in  all  the  details  of  mis- 
sionary experience  on  several  most  important  fields 
of  missionary  labor,  as  that  collection  of  missionary 
papers." 

The  object  of  these  conferences  was  better  secured 
by  means  of  reports,  than  by  resolutions.  The 
Deputation  had  liberty  to  suggest  and  discuss  with 
all  freedom,  but  neither  served  on  committees,  nor 
had  the  responsibility  of  voting.  There  is  space  for 
only  some  of  the  more  important  results  of  these 
Conferences ;  others  can  be  inferred  from  the  subse- 
quent history  of  the  missions. 

THE    MAHRATTA   CONFERENCE. 

The  Mahratta  Mission  assembled  at  Ahmednug- 
Membersof    gur  on  the  3d  of  December,  1854,  and  re- 

the  Confer- 

euee.  maiued  together  till  the  25th.    There  were 

present  Messrs.  Munger,  Ballantine,  Fairbank,  Wil- 
der, Hazen,  Wood,  Bowen,  Bissell,  and  Barker,  and 
the  ladies  of  the  mission. 


MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES.  245 

The  brethren  of  the  Ahmednuggur  branch  had 
previously  licensed  two  of  their  native  converts  as 
preachers  of  the  Gospel,  both  of  whom  had  been 
brahmins.  It  was  their  purpose  to  have  these 
preachers  ordained  as  evangelists,  on  the  arrival  of 
the  Deputation  ;  but  when  the  matter  came  up  for 
consideration  in  the  Conference  it  was  ar-  Ordinatlon 
ranged,  that  the  Ahmednuggur  church  be  lUtivepas- 

°  ,      ,,       ,      tors. 

divided  and  form  two  churches,  and   that 
the  candidates  be  ordained,  not  as  evangelists,  but 
as  pastors  of  those  churches.     These  were  the  first 
native  pastors  ordained  by  the  missions  of  the  Board 
in  India.   The  reason  assigned  by  the  Mali-  Reason  for 
ratta  brethren  for  having  delayed  such  oi-  Fuc)1  ordiUa- 

1 1  tions. 

dinations  was,  that  they  had  not  tally  un- 
derstood the  importance  of  having  self  governing 
churches  in  different  localities.  The  missionary 
himself  acted  as  pastor,  feeling  that  he  could  better 
perform  the  duties  of  that  office.  The  native 
preachers  shrunk,  moreover,  from  pastoral  responsi- 
bilities, and  at  last  assumed  them  with  evident  re- 
luctance. 

Connected  with  these  ordinations  was  the  expres- 
sion of  an  opinion  by  the  Conference  ad-  Againstor. 

•    •  i.-  1  ,-  i.  .      ne    darning  na- 

verse   to    ordaining    native    preacneis    as  tiveevan- 

o  *•  Relists. 

evangelists.     The  institution   ot   a   native 
pastorate  naturally  led  to  efforts  for  the  development 
of  village  churches.     Coming,  as   all   the  Deroiopment 
missionaries    had,   from   a  country  where  church. 


246  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

Edwards,  Hopkins,  Bellamy,  and  Dwight  wore  mas- 
ter-spirits in  theology,  they  perhaps  had  too  much 
distrusted  the  native  experience,  where  love,  conso- 
why distrust  lation,  and  joy  were  out  of  proportion  to 
piety.  conviction  of  sin.    But  a  more  careful  pe- 

rusal of  the  history  of  the  primitive  churches  and 
the  Epistles  of  John,  in  connection  with  the  living 
manifestations  of  God's  grace  in  oriental  converts, 
had  produced  the  conviction,  that  true  piety,  in  some 
of  its  heautiful  developments,  may  exist  among  them 
with  either  form  of  experience.  Thus  were  they 
led  to  repose  more  confidence  in  the  ability  of  native 
churches,  preachers,  and  pastors  to  sustain  respon- 
sibility, and  became  more  ready  to  devolve  responsi- 
bility upon  them. 

A  special  difficulty  presented  itself  in  arranging 
Difficulty  in  for  village  stations.  The  native  roads  were 
lagestations.  nearly  impracticable  during  the  rains  from 
bridgeless  torrents  and  deep  mud,  and  there  was 
danger  of  contracting  acute  diseases,  so  that  fami- 
lies scrupled  to  settle  where  friendly  and  medical 
succor  would  be  so  difficult  of  access.  But  the 
progress  of  macadamized  roads  and  railways  was 
rapidly  removing  this  hindrance,  and  a  plan  was 
devised,  at  this  time,  by  which  two  rural  stations 
were  very  soon  established. 

The  boarding-school  for  boys  at  Ahmednuggur 
theTiSi"  naa<  ueeu  discontinued  two  years  before, 
mednug^ur."  as  already  stated,  and  replaced   by  other 


MISSIONARY   CONFERENCES.  247 

schools  suited  to  the  times.  The  action  of  the  Con- 
ference was  in  substantial  agreement  with  those  pro- 
ceeding's. 

A  report  on  Native  Churches  and  Pastors  was 
drawn  up  by  one  of  the  more  experienced  mission- 
aries, the  following  abstract  of  which  will  not  be 
thought  too  extended  :  — 

1.  Such  deep  contrition  for  sin  is  rarely  seen 
among  the  Mahrattas,  as  is  often  exhibited  n 

O  '  On  native 

among  those  who  have  known  the  Bible  piety- 
from  their  childhood.  But  when  there  is  an  evident 
love  for  the  truth  in  a  native,  a  constant  desire  to 
know  it,  and  a  continuous  efFort  to  do  what  is  right, 
and  especially  resistance  to  strong  temptation,  or 
steadfastness  under  trial,  then  we  may  believe  him  to 
be  a  true  child  of  God.  His  knowledge  of  the  Chris- 
tian doctrines  may  be  very  limited,  and  yet  he  be 
a  true  Christian.  If  there  be  evidence  of  a  change 
of  heart,  his  ignorance  ought  not  to  debar  him  from 
the  church.  Much  responsibility  should  be  thrown 
upon  the  native  church  members,  who  generally 
form  a  very  correct  opinion  as  to  the  character  of 
those  with  whom  they  are  daily  conversant.  A 
native  pastor  will  often  judge  more  correctly  of  the 
character  of  a  candidate  for  church  membership,  than 
the  missionary. 

2.  When  a  native    pastor  is  not    available  for  a 
particular   church,  a   catechist   should  be  substitute 
put   in    charge    of    it,    whose    business    it  pastor.' 


248  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

should  be  to  give  religious  instruction  to  the  church, 
to  watch  over  the  conduct  of  its  members,  and  to 
give  information  of  irregularities  to  the  missionary 
under  whose  care  he  is  placed. 

3.  The  aim  is  to  render  the  churches  self-sustain- 

seifsustam-  *"»  as  S0011  as  Poss>ible.  Consequently  the 
ingchurchas.  missionai7  will  perform  the  duties  of  pas- 
tor no  longer  than  is  necessary,  and  he  will  be  care- 
ful to  throw  as  much  responsibility  upon  the  church 
members  as  he  finds  they  are  able  to  bear  without 
injury  to  the  cause.  It  would  be  far  better  that  a 
native  pastor  should  make  some  mistakes  in  the 
management  of  his  church,  than  that  the  mission- 
ary should  relieve  him  too  largely  of  responsibility. 

4.  The  education  of   native  pastors    should   vary 
Education  of  according  to  their  talents  and  their  field 

native  pas- 

tors.  of   labor.      In    many  instances,  pastors  of 

churches  in  the  cities  or  in  important  places  should 
have  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  English  to  consult 
English  commentaries.  They  should  have  some 
knowledge  of  English  science.  In  large  cities  many 
intelligent  natives  are  acquainted  with  English  sci- 
ence, and  familiar  with  English  works  on  various  sub- 
jects, and  native  pastors  in  these  places  should  be 
prepared  to  meet  this  portion  of  the  community,  and 
also  those  who  are  deists  or  infidels.  It  is  even 
desirable,  that  some  should  have  such  a  knowledge 
of  the  Sanskrit  language,  as  to  be  able  to  show  the 
learned  brahmin  who  opposes  Christianity,  from  his 


MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES.  249 

own  sacred  books,  the  absurdities  of  Hinduism. 
Pastors  of  churches  in  country  places  do  not  so 
much  need  a  knowledge  of  English  science,  or  of 
the  English  language,  but  should  have  a  good 
knowledge  of  their  vernacular,  and  be  prepared  to 
explain  the  Word  of  God  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 
Persons  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the  Scrip- 
tures, who  understand  the  great  doctrines  of  the 
Bible,  and  are  apt  to  teach  without  any  other  literary 
qualifications,  may  be  ordained  as  pastors  of  native 
churches  in  the  villages,  and  may  be  expected  to 
prove  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ.  Between  these 
two  extremes  there  will  be  various  grades  of  qualifi- 
cation, and  each  pastor  should  be  placed  over  the 
church  for  which  he  is  especially  adapted  by  his 
talents  and  character. 

5.  In  general  the  native  pastors  placed  over 
churches  in  cities  and  important  places  salaries  of 
should  not  have  more  than  thirty  or  tors, 
thirty-five  rupees  per  month,  including  house  rent, 
and  those  placed  over  churches  in  the  villages,  from 
ten  to  fifteen  rupees  per  month.  There  may  be 
situations  where  a  salary  of  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  rupees  should  be  given.  This  will  suffice,  it  is 
believed,  to  support  the  pastors  comfortably,  and 
enable  them  to  exercise  the  duties  of  benevolence 
and  hospitality,  being  somewhat  above  the  income 
of  men  in  the  same  position  in  the  native  com- 
munity.    Our  native   pastors  should  not  live  after 


250  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

the  manner  of  the  heathen,  but  exhibit  the  fruits 
of  their  religion  in  cleanliness  of  person,  decency 
of  apparel,  and  order  in  their  households,  setting 
an  example  which  their  flocks  may  be  recommended 
to  follow.  And  these  salaries  will  not  be  above  the 
ability  of  the  native  churches  to  give. 

6.  Missionaries  should  not  belong'  to  ecclesiastical 
Ecciesiasti-     bodies    composed   of    the    native    pastors. 

cal  relations,     rj^     m&y    .^^     ^^     meetingSj    an(]     a(]_ 

vise  them,  but  in  general  it  will  be  found  expedient 
to  leave  the  native  pastors  to  manage  their  ecclesi- 
astical affairs  for  themselves.  In  this  way  they  will 
become  more  speedily  prepared  to  maintain  the  in- 
stitutions of  religion  independently  of  foreign  as- 
sistance, and  their  churches  to  become  self-govern- 
ing and  self-sustaining.  The  departure  of  the 
missionary,  when  that  shall  finally  take  place,  will 
then  be  no  sudden  disruption  of  ecclesiastical  rela- 
tions, nor  will  it  weaken  the  ecclesiastical  body 
which  the  native  pastors  have  formed. 

7.  The  native  brethren  are  well    adapted  to  the 
Native  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel.     They  are 

preaching 

talent.  generally   fluent   in    their   own    language, 

and  command  attention  by  their  free  allusions  to 
native  customs  and  ideas.  In  this  respect  no  for- 
eign missionary  can  ever  compete  with  them.  The 
preaching  of  the  natives  is  very  valuable.  That  of 
the  educated  among  them  is  not  behind  the  preach- 
ing of  the  missionary.     Divine  truth  is  exhibited  iu 


MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES.  251 

its  relations,  and  applied  to  the  conscience,  as  well 
as  by  the  missionaries ;  and  the}'  may  be  expected  to 
become  better  preachers  than  persons  from  other 
lands.  The  members  of  the  Conference  declared 
their  joy  in  this  prospect,  aud  their  readiness  to 
stand  out  of  the  way,  and  let  them  take  the  place 
which  God  had  evidently  assigned  them. 

The  Conference  was  dissolved  after  twenty  days; 
the  brethren  declaring'  their  gratitude  for  IlesuUsin 

...  ■%      n  i  ,.i  the  mission. 

stations  occupied,  lor  so  many  hopetul  con- 
gregations, and  for  churches  embracing  forty-three 
members  from  the  highest  castes  (fifteen  of  them 
converted  brahmins),  out  of  a  total  of  two  hundred 
aud  twenty-five,  with  two  competent  native  pastors. 
"  The  Mahratta  people  as  a  whole,"  say  the  breth- 
ren, writing  in  the  year  1854,  have  acquired  a  large 
amount  of  speculative  knowledge  of  Christian  truth. 
As  the  result  of  missionary  efforts,  in  which  the 
missions  of  other  societies  have  also  shared,  spe- 
cially by  means  of  schools,  extended  preaching 
tours,  and  the  distribution  of  tracts,  we  find  that  a 
pretty  general  and  correct  knowledge  of  Christianity 
prevails  among*  the  thinking  community  in  both  the 
Concau  and  the  Deccan.  There  are  many,  now  scat- 
tered all  over  this  land,  who  have  committed  our 
catechisms  and  epitomes  of  Scripture  truth  to  mem- 
ory, and  who  have  received  much  religious  instruc- 
tion. Such  persons  tell  others  what  Christianity  is, 
and  decide  correctly  when  appealed  to  for  iuforina- 


252  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

tion  respecting-  fundamental  doctrines.  Vast  num- 
bers of  tracts  and  Christian  books  are  in  circulation, 
and  are  read  by  the  people.  Of  our  "First  Book 
for  Children,"  which  consists,  besides  a  few  lessons 
on  letters  and  spelling-,  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the 
Ten  Commandments,  and  a  simple  epitome  of  the 
doctrines  of  grace,  more  than  thirty  thousand  have 
been  sold  within  the  past  five  years.  Thus,  by 
means  which  are  accessible  to  the  people  in  the  ab- 
sence of  the  missionary,  the  great  truths  of  the 
Gospel  are  made  known.  The  twelve  millions,  who 
use  the  Mahratta  language,  are  thus  being  taught, 
that  Christianity  regards  them  all  as  guilty  for  hav- 
ing sinned  against  the  Heavenly  Father,  and  as  liable 
to  endless  punishment,  but  also  oifers  them  all  a  Sa- 
viour, a  Sanctifier,  and  Eternal  Life. 

THE   CEYLON   CONFERENCE. 

The  Ceylon   Conference  was   held    in  Jaffna,  be- 
Membersof    tween    April    25  and  May  22,  1855;   and 

the  Confer-  ■»«--■ 

euce.  there  were  present  Messrs.  Meigs,  Spani- 

eling, Smith,  Howland,  Hastings,  Green,  Burnell, 
Sanders,  and  Lord,  and  the  ladies  of  the  mission. 

The  reader  may  be  pleased  to  know  the  subjects 
„  ..  ,   ,.     which  occupied  the  attention  of  the  Con- 

SuDjecta  dis-  l 

theconfcr-     ference.     They  were,  in  brief,  as  follows  : 
The  Governing  Object  in  Missions  ;  Preach- 
ing ;  Native  Churches  and  Pastors  ;  Caste  and  Po- 
lygamy ;  Native  Schools ;  Oodooville  Female  Board- 


MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES.  2f>3 

ing-school ;  Batticotta  Seminary  ;  Native  Assistants  ; 
Modification  in  the  Stations;  Restrictions  on  Cor- 
respondence ;  Printing  Establishment;  Provision 
lor  Widows,  Children,  and  Invalid  Missionaries ; 
Grants  from  Bible  and  Tract  Societies;  Visits  to  the 
United  States  ;  Sanitaria;  Salaries;  Medical  Estab- 
lishment; Mission  Property;  Government  Grants; 
Estimates,  Appropriations,  and  Expenditures;  Mis- 
sion Buildings ;  and  Temporal  Aid  from  Mission 
Funds. 

While  all  the  topics  above  named  received  careful 
consideration,  a  few  only  can  be  noticed  here. 

For  nearly  forty  years  the  five  older  stations  had 
enjoyed  the  labors  of  some  of  the  ablest  and  most 
faithful  of  missionaries,  and  there  had  been  every 
facility  which  popular  schools  of  every  form  could 
give.  Yet,  separating  from  the  congregations  the 
pupils  in  the  mission  schools  and  those  de-  „  . 

1      L  Native 

riving  their  support  from  mission  employ-  {fol^S 
ment,  only  one  hundred  and  twenty-four 
adults  were  found  in  the  congregations  of  those  five 
stations,  who  were  not  members  of  the  church. 
.And  in  respect  to  the  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  members  of  those  churches,  two  hundred  and 
forty-nine  derived  their  support,  in  some  form,  from 
the  mission.  Mr.  Meigs,  the  oldest  member  of  the 
mission,  stated  that  both  of  these  results  were  owing 
to  the  hard  and  barren  nature  of  the  soil,  and  not 
to  the  schools,  which  were  at  that  time  generally 


254  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

under  Christian  masters,  who  taught  the  lessons  the 
mission  required  them  to  teach.  They  were,  in  fact, 
Christian  schools. 

It  appeared  that  the   boarding-schools  had  done 
usefulness  of  much  for  the  cause  of  education  and  general 

the  higher         .  ton 

schools.  improvement,  much  to  array  the  facts  of 
science  against  the  Hindu  mythology,  and  that  well 
educated  men  were  residing  in  all  parts  of  the  com- 
munity. Hundreds  and  even  thousands  were  heads 
of  families,  whom  the  common  schools  had  more  or 
less  instructed  in  the  fundamental  truths  of  the 
Gospel.  But  the  higher  education  had  acquired  at 
length  a  marketable  value  outside  of  the  mission, 
Tendency  of    and    was    setting    strongly    towards    the 

the  high 

schools.  world,  through  the  English  language. 
There  was  then  operating  in  the  native  mind,  as  the 
result  of  past  educational  efforts,  an  intensely  avari- 
cious and  ambitious  mental  activity,  which  the  mis- 
sionaries could  no  longer  hope  to  correct,  or  even 
control,  except  by  giving  themselves  more  exclu- 
sively to  prayer  and  the  ministry  of  the  Word. 

A  village  pastor  was  ordained  by  the  Conference 
ordination  ^  Karadive,  on  the  24th  of  May,  —  the 
natfve  pas-  first  native  pastor  in  the  mission,  —  over 
a  church  recently  gathered,  and  composed 
of  men  and  women  from  castes  opposed  to  each 
other;  and  the  first  of  two  deacons  chosen  by  the 
church  members,  was  of  pariah  origin.  It  is  inter- 
esting that  Mr.  Meigs,  of  the  first  company  of  mis- 


MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES.  255 

sionaries  which  arrived  thirty-nine  years  before,  and 
Mr.  Spauhling,  of  the  first  reinforcement  in  1820, 
took  leading-  parts  in  the  service.  Cornelius  the 
pastor  was  not  born  in  the  province,  nor  accom- 
plished in  English  studies,  but  he  had  been  long  la- 
boring- in  the  place,  was  of  good  report  among  the 
people,  and  desired  by  them  to  be  their  pastor. 

Churches  thus  furnished   for   action  the  Confer- 
ence  proposed   to   organize    wherever  the 

11  n  Proposed 

Lord  should   be   pleased    to  renew  by  his  ™"1|t|)lflica~ 
grace  a  sufficient   number   of  the   inhab- 
itants, and   pastors  were  to  be  ordained   wherever 
there  was  a  suitable  man  to  fill  so  responsible  an 
office,  and  a  church  that  should  desire  him  for  its 
shepherd. 

The  ground  taken  by  the  Conference  in  respect  to 
preaching  places  for  village  use  is  worthy  Native 
of  special  notice.  They  would  have  them  housed. 
native  houses,  with  mud  or  matted  sides,  a  thatched 
roof,  and  a  smooth  floor  of  earth  covered  with  mats 
of  palmyra  leaf,  costing  only  from  twenty-five  to 
seventy-five  dollars.  The  heathen,  it  was  said, 
would  come  most  readily  to  places  of  worship  of 
that  description. 

The  modifications  desirable  in  the  higher  schools 
received  very  careful  attention.     The  Semi-  „ 
nary  at  Batticotta  contained,  at  the  close  H^ta^semi- 
of    1854,   six   teachers    and    one    hundred  nary 
pupils.     The  English  studies  had  been  gaining  on 


256 


.MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 


the  Tamil  until,  as  stated  by  the  Principal  of  the 
institution,  they  stood  related  to  each  other  as  fol- 
lows :  — 


Tamil. 

English 
and  Tamil. 

5 
5 
4 

English. 

Senior  class,  during  six  years     . 
Junior  class,  during  four  years 
First  class,  during  two  years 

5 
5 

2 

19 

12 

4 

Totals 

12 

14 

35 

The  Conference  agreed  that  the  Seminary  should 
in  future  be  for  preparing-  young  men,  in  a  four 
years'  course,  to  become  Christian  teachers,  cate- 
chists,  and  pastors,  and  that  the  studies  should  be 
mainly  restricted  to  the  vernacular,  and  be  made 
eminently  Biblical.  None  were  to  be  admitted  under 
the  age  of  fourteen,  and  all  were  to  be  Christians, 
or  from  Christian  families.  A  missionary  was  to 
have  charge  of  the  Seminary,  aided  by  two  native 
teachers. 

The  studies  in  the  Oodooville  Female  Boarding- 
oodooviiie      school  were  to  be  restricted  to  the  Tamil 

boarding- 
school,  language,  the  number  of  pupils  was  to  be 

reduced  from  seventy-three  to  thirty-five,  none  were 

to  be  admitted  under  twelve  years  of  age,  and  the 

term   of   residence   was   not   to   exceed    five   years. 

Tbose  admitted  were  generally  to  be  Christians,  or 

from  the  families  of  church  members,  or  nominal 

Christians. 


MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES.  257 

It  was  a  significant  fact,  that  the  oldest  members 
of  the    mission   were  the    ones    most  im-   ETidenceof 

piet\  and 

pressed  with  the  favorable  religious  changes  progress. 
wrought  in  the  province,  and  were  the  ones  most 
confident  of  future  success. 


The  proceedings  of  this  Conference  became  the 
subject  of  discussion  at  the  Annual  Meet-  Proceedings 
ing  of  the  Board  in  Utica,  N.  Y.,  in  1855,  tin,,,  .,,i 

apprehended 

before  the  Deputation  had  returned  home,  at  honie 
founded  ou  changes  reported  to  have  been  made  in 
the  organization  and  working  of  the  mission  in 
Ceylon.  It  was  suggested  that  a  special  meeting 
of  the  Board  be  called  whenever  the  matters  con- 
nected with  the  visit  of  the  Deputation  to  India 
should  be  ready  for  its  consideration. 

Such  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  city  of  Albany, 

N.  Y.,  on  the  4th,  5th,  and  (3th  days  of  special  meet- 
ing of  the 

March,  1856;  and  the  great  interest  taken  Board. 
in  the  welfare  of  the  Board  and  its  missions  was 
manifest  in  the  attendance  during  that  inclement 
month  of  thirty-nine  Corporate  members,  and  at 
least  two  hundred  Honorary  members.  The  Depu- 
tation, with  the  consent  of  the  Prudential  Commit- 
tee, made  their  Report  direct  to  the  Board  in  a 
printed  form ;  but  did  not  go  into  any  formal  defense 
of  the  Conference  or  of  their  own  proceedings,  be- 
lieving it  would  result  better  for  the  cause  of  truth, 
that  there  be  a  direct  correspondence  with  the  mis- 

17 


258  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

sionaries,  individually,  in  India  and  Turkey.  A  com- 
Aeommittee  niittee  of  thirteen  was  accordingly  ap- 
o  thirteen.  p0jnted,  to  whom  the  Report  of  the  Depu- 
tation was  referred ;  with  full  power  to  investigate 
all  questions  pertaining-  thereto,  and  to  make  their 
report  at  the  next  annual  meeting  of  the  Board. 
The  members  of  the  committee  were  Dr.  N.  S.  S. 
Beman,  Dr.  Mark  Hopkins,  Dr.  Leonard  Bacon,  Dr. 
D.  H.  Riddle,  Governor  E.  Fairbanks,  Hon.  Linus 
Child,  Dr.  B.  C.  Taylor,  Horace  Holden,  Esq.,  Dr. 
Asa  D.  Smith,  Hon.  W.  Jessup,  R.  T.  Haynes,  Esq., 
Dr.  Ray  Palmer,  and  Dr.  P.  H.  Fowler. 

This  committee  held  five  meetings,  at  which  most 
Their  inves-  of  the  members  were  present,  and  spent 
tigations.  follrteen  days  in  laborious  sessions  from 
eight  to  eleven  hours  each  day.  Their  first  act  was 
to  address  a  letter  of  inquiry  to  each  member  in  the 
missions  visited  by  the  Deputation,  and  also  of  the 
missions  in  Syria  and  Turkey  visited  by  Dr.  Ander- 
son, and  a  similar  circular  was  addressed  to  returned 
missionaries  in  this  country.  At  the  same  time,  the 
Prudential  Committee  was  requested  to  furnish  the 
Committee  with  their  opinions  on  the  various  sub- 
jects contained  in  the  Report  of  the  Deputation, 
indicating  generally  the  principles  upon  which  the 
India  missions  should  hereafter  be  conducted,  espe- 
cially in  regard  to  schools  and  seminaries,  the  press, 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  relation  of 
missionaries  to  the  native  churches  and  pastors. 


MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES.  259 

The  Report  which  the  Committee  of  Thirteen 
made  to  the  Board  at  its  Annual  Meeting 

The  result. 

in  Newark  in   1856,  may  he  found  in  the 
Report  of  the  Board  for  that  year,  pp.  29-67.1     The 
following  declaration  is  the  only  part  of  it  that  needs 
to  be  here  quoted,  namely  :  — 

"  In  regard  to  the  late  visit  of  the  Deputation  to 
the  Eastern  missions,  the  Special  Committee  believe 
they  have  performed  a  great  and  needful  work;  that 
they  have  discharged  their  high  trust  as  faithful, 
devoted  men  ;  that  they  ought  to  receive  the  cordial 
thanks  of  this  Board,  and  that  we  may  confidently 
hope  that  a  new  spirit  may  pervade  and  animate  our 
missions  abroad,  and  a  strong  missionary  impulse 
be  given  to  our  churches  by  this  labor  of  love." 

This  resolution  was  embodied  in  one  adopted  also 
by  the  Board. 

THE   MADURA   CONFERENCE. 

The  Madura  Conference  assembled    at   the  East 
Madura  station  on  the  26th  of  February.  Per80ns 
There  were  present  Messrs.  Muzzy,  Tracy,-  present' 
Herrick,  Rendall,  Webb,  Taylor,  Chandler,  Little, 
Noyes,  and  Sheldon,  with  the  wives  of  the  mission- 
aries. 

The  village  system  of  Christian  congregations  in 
the    Madura    mission,    already   described,   The<im*- 
came    under    review   in    the    Conference,  gations. 

1  The  Report  was  also  published  in  a  separate  form,  8vo,  pp.  61,  in 
two  editions. 


260  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

There  were  then  one  hundred  and  twenty  congrega- 
tions, gathered  from  one  hundred  and  forty-six  vil- 
lages, and  numbering  four  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  forty-six  members,  old  and  young.  Of  these, 
five  hundred  and  sixty-nine,  or  about  one  fifth  part 
of  the  adults,  were  church  members.  The  existence 
of  these  congregations  in  that  heathen  land,  in 
which  the  church  members  were  so  far  outnum- 
bered by  the  merely  nominal  Christians,  was  deemed 
an  extraordinary  fact.  The  Deputation  saw  the 
greater  part  of  the  church  members,  and  not  a  few 
of  the  men  and  women  of  the  congregations,  and 
could  not  but  feel  that  only  the  ordinary  divine 
blessing  was  needed  on  appropriate  and  persevering 
labors,  to  secure  permanent  congregations  through- 
out the  Collectorate. 

It  appeared  that  the  system  of  village  schools  in 
The  Tillage  this  mission  had  been  expensive,  and  want- 
ing in  vigor.  The  Christian  pupils  in  the 
seventy  schools  averaged  only  about  eight  to  a 
school.  Their  annual  cost,  supposing  all  equally 
well  provided  with  instruction,  would  have  exceeded 
ten  thousand  rupees,  and  this  for  the  village  schools 
alone. 

Important  modifications  were  made  in  the  Semi- 
Mofimca-       nary  at  Pasumalai,  adapting  it  to  the  exist- 

tions  in  the       .  -i  /»      1  »       -i  t 

Seminwy.  \ng  demands  of  the  held.  It  was  to  have 
a  diversity  of  studies,  adapted  to  different  classes  of 
persons :  1st.  For  young  men  of  promise  and  piety, 


MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES.  261 

between  the  ages  of  fifteen  and  twenty-five,  a  course 
purely  Tamil,  of  from  two  to  four  years,  to  prepare 
them  for  schoolmasters,  catechists,  and  eventually, 
in  some  cases,  for  pastors.  2d.  For  the  better  im- 
provement of  some  not  employed  as  catechists,  who 
had  developed  a  talent  for  preaching  and  pastoral 
duties,  and  who  would  be  greatly  benefited  by  a 
longer  or  shorter  connection  with  the  Seminary. 
3d.  For  those  whose  talents,  piety,  and  circumstances 
indicated  the  propriety  of  a  more  extended  educa- 
tion. The  study  of  the  English  language  was  to  be 
for  only  a  part  of  this  class  ;  and  for  them  not  as  a 
medium  of  instruction  in  cases  where  proper  text- 
books in  Tamil  could  be  obtained. 

The   English    School    at   Madura,  after  being  in 
operation  twenty  years,  was  discontinued.  Engibh 

school  at 

Not  far  from   five  hundred  boys    had   en-  Madura. 
joyed  its  advantages.     It  had  been  useful  to  soci- 
ety, but  uo  member  of  the  school  had  been  known 
to  receive  a  saving  impression  from  the  truths  of 
the  Gospel.  , 

The    first    native    pastor  in  this  mission,  Mr.  S. 
Winfred,  was  ordained  at  Mallanlcinaru  on   „  „    . 

'  Ordination 

the  20th  of  March.     The  church  was  or-  £S£*£ 
ganized  and  the  pastor  ordained  by  a  com- 
mittee  of  the   Madura   Mission.     The    Deputation 
was  invited  to  assist,  and  tender  the  fellowship  of 
the  churches  at  home  to  the  newly  formed  church, 
and  the  fellowship  of  the  pastors   at  home  to  the 


262  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

newly  ordained  pastor.  In  the  charge  to  the  pas- 
tor he  was  informed,  that  while  continuing-  to  re- 
ceive a  part  of  his  support  from  the  Board,  he  would 
be  expected  to  make  stated  reports  to  the  mission, 
as  pastors  do  in  America  to  Societies  from  which 
they  receive  aid.  For  the  sake  of  order,  his  chan- 
nel of  communicating  with  the  mission  would  be 
the  missionary  of  the  station  district,  within  the 
bounds  of  which  his  church  and  parish  were  situ- 
ated ;  and  he  was  recommended,  when  needing  ad- 
vice and  encouragement  in  his  new  office,  to  go  for 
them  to  that  missionary. 

AT    MADRAS. 

There  were  no  extended  discussions  at  Madras, 
™  Messrs.  Winslow  and  Hurd  being  the  only 

Why  uo  ex-  o  J 

cussionsat  residents  there.  It  was  understood  that 
the  time  had  come  for  restricting  the 
Printing  Establishment  to  the  demands  of  the  na- 
tive language.  Mr.  Hunt,  the  printer,  returned 
from  the  United  States  when  the  senior  member  of 
the  Deputation  was  about  leaving  India,  and  gave 
that  as  his  decided  opinion.  ' 

AT   ARCOT. 

The  Deputation  visited  the  Arcot  Mission  in 
who  were  June.  It  was  composed,  at  that  time,  of 
at  Arcot.  MeggrS-  Henry,  William  W.,  and  Joseph 
Scudder,  sons  of  Dr.  Scudder.     Their  three  stations 


MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES.  263 

were  all  of  recent  date ;  and  it  was  not  deemed  nec- 
essary, nor  was  there  time,  to  renew  the  consider- 
ation of  general  principles,  which  had  already  been 
discussed  once  and  again,  and  some  of  them  for 
the  third  time. 

OTHER    MISSIONARY    CONFERENCES. 

Dr.  Mullens  states,  in  his  "  Brief  Review  of  Ten  Years' 
Missionary  Labor  in  India,  between  1852  and  1861,"  that 
"  the  idea  of  gathering  a  General  Conference  of  Mission- 
aries of  all  Societies  for  consultation  respecting  tbeir  work 
and  the  value  of  their  plans,  sprang  from  the  private  gath- 
erings of  the  American  Missionaries,  who  had  been  called 
together  by  the  Deputation  from  Boston."  This  grew  out 
of  the  fact,  that  the  American  Secretary,  on  visiting  Cal- 
cutta in  the  summer  of  1855,  took  with  him  the  printed 
Minutes  of  the  Conferences,  and  left  copies  with  Messrs. 
Mullens  and  Ewart,  two  of  the  leading  missionaries  in  that 
city. 

BAPTIST    MISSIONARY    CONFERENCES. 

More  than  a  year  before  the  Deputation  from  the  Amer- 
ican Board  proceeded  to  India,  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union  had  deputed  the 
Rev.  Solomon  Peck,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  J.  N.  Granger  to  visit 
their  Mission  in  Burmah,  and  had  invited  the  missionaries 
to  meet  and  consult  with  them.  The  missionaries  accord- 
ingly assembled  in  convention  at  Maulmain,  in  Burmah,  on 
the  4th  of  April,  1853,  and  were  together  till  the  17th  of 
May.  The  proceedings  of  the  Conference  were  printed  for 
the  use  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  fill  one  hundred 
and  sixteen  pages. 


264  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

Mr.  Underbill  held  four  conferences  with  the  missionaries 
of  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  between  June  26,  1855, 
and  February  18,  1856.  The  proceedings  of  these  confer- 
ences were  printed  for  private  use,  and  fill  two  hundred 
and  sixty-seven  octavo  pages.  The  conferences  were  held 
at  Calcutta,  by  the  Bengal  missionaries ;  at  Agra,  by  the 
missionaries  of  the  Northwest  Provinces  ;  at  Monghir,  by 
missionaries  in  Behar;  and  at  Colombo  by  missionaries  and 
native  pastors  in  Ceylon. 

GENERAL    MISSIONARY    CONFERENCES. 

There  have  been  six  General  Missionary  Conferences 
since  the  summer  of  1855.  (1.)  At  Calcutta,  for  Bengal 
Protestant  missionaries,  from  the  4th  to  the  7th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1855.  There  were  present  fifty  missionaries,  and  the 
published  proceedings  occupy  one  hundred  and  eighty-three 
octavo  pages.  (2.)  At  Benares,  in  January,  1857,  for  the 
Northwest  Provinces.  Fifty  missionaries  were  present, 
from  seven  Missionary  Societies.  The  papers  of  this  con- 
ference were  destroyed  in  the  burning  of  the  Allahabad 
Missionary  Press,  during  the  Mutiny.  (3.)  At  Ootaca- 
mund,  on  the  Neilgherry  Hills,  for  South  India,  from  April 
19th  to  May  5th,  1858.  Thirty-two  missionaries  were  pres- 
ent, from  eight  missions.  The  published  proceedings  occupy 
a  volume  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  large  octavo  pages. 
(4.)  At  Liverpool  (Englaud),  from  the  19th  to  the  23d  of 
March,  I860,  composed  of  missionaries  and  others,  twenty- 
five  of  whom  were  officers  of  Missionary  Societies.  The 
proceedings  were  published  in  a  volume  of  four  hundred 
and  twenty-eight  octavo  pages.  (5.)  At  Lahore,  for  the 
Punjab,  in  December  and  January,  1862-63.    The  proceed- 


MISSIONARY  CONFERENCES.  265 

inirs  make  an  octavo  volume  of  three  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  pages.  (6.)  At  Allahabad,  in  Northern  India,  L872- 
73.  One  hundred  and  thirty-six  members  were  present.1 
The  proceedings  fill  six  hundred  octavo  pages. 

1  Of  these  one  hundred  and  five  were  ordained  missionaries,  two 
were  chaplains,  seventeen  laymen  connected  with  missions,  and  twelve 
not  connected  with  missions.  The  Missionary  societies  represented 
were  nineteen.  The  number  of  members  connected  with  each  was 
as  follows:  American  Board,  four;  American  Presbyterian  Board, 
twenty-one;  American  Methodist  Mission,  eighteen;  American  Re- 
formed Church,  one ;  American  United  Presbyterian  Church,  two  ; 
Anglo-Indian  Church  Union,  one  ;  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  ten  ; 
Christian  Vernacular  Education  Society,  two  ;  Chamba  Mission,  one; 
(.'lunch  Missionary  Society,  twenty-five;  Church  of  Scotland,  includ- 
ing two  chaplains,  three  ;  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  twelve  ;  Gossner's 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Mission,  two  ;  Indian  Home  Mission  to  the 
Santhals,  one;  Irish  Presbyterian  Mission,  three;  London  Missionary 
Society,  thirteen  ;  Madras  Bible  Society,  one  ;  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  three  ;  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society,  one-  The  number  of 
foreign  members  connected  with  missions  was  ninety-six  ;  of  native 
members,  twenty-eight.  Americans  numbered  thirty-eight,  English- 
men thirty-two,  Scotchmen  nineteen,  Irishmen  three,  Germans  three, 
and  one  was  a  Norwegian.  Of  the  native  members,  Bengalis,  nine ; 
Hindustanis,  nine;  Mahrattas,  four;  Tamils,  three;  Punjabi,  one; 
Parsee  convert,  one  ;  Travancore  Syrian,  one.  From  the  Bengal  Presi- 
dency, eighteen  ;  Northwest  Provinces  and  Oudh,  sixty-two  ;  the  Pun- 
jab, thirteen  ;  Bombay  Presidency  and  Central  Provinces,  eighteen  ; 
Madras  Presidency,  twelve. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

MISSION   TO   THE    MAHEATTAS. 

1854-1862. 

Early  in  the  autumn  of  1854  the  members  of  the 
Tour  in  the  Deputation  accompanied  Messrs.  Ballantine 
vaiiey.  and  Barker  on  a  tour  up  the  valley  of  the 

Godavari.  It  was  over  ground  that  had  been  more 
or  less  cultivated  by  the  mission  for  a  dozen  years. 
The  rains  were  past,  the  roads  were  settled,  the  heat 
had  greatly  moderated,  and  the  air  was  salubrious. 
We  travelled  in  neat,  covered  carts,  each  drawn  by 
a  pair  of  small  bullocks,  who  trotted  gently  along- 
where  the  road  was  smooth.  The  body  of  the  cart 
rested  on  springs,  with  two  seats  across  and  a  shel- 
ter from  the  sun,  leaving  an  opening  at  the  sides. 
The  vehicle  was  respectable  and  comfortable,  being- 
adapted  to  rough  roads.  In  the  vicinity  of  Bombay 
and  Ahmednuggur  there  are  well  made  and  fre- 
quently macadamized  roads.  It  was  necessary  to 
carry  tents,  beds,  the  means  of  cooking-,  and  nearly 
all  the  provisions.  The  luggage  was  conveyed  at 
little  cost.  The  established  daily  rates,  at  which 
native  men  deemed  it  a  privilege  to  be  employed, 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  267 

were  nine  cents  for  a  man,  fifteen  for  a  horse  and 
man,  thirty  cents  for  bullocks  and  a  man  to  drive 
them,  and  the  same  for  cattle  and  luggage  cart;  all 
including  the  cost  of  their  living. 

The  villages  were  generally  surrounded  by  walls 
of    sun-dried    bricks,    with   a    gateway   of 

°  J  The  villages. 

stone,  and  large  towers  of  the  same  mate- 
rial. Before  the  extension  of  British  power  over 
these  fair  lands,  such  defenses  were  needful  for  the 
robber-chieftain  himself,  or  against  his  predatory 
incursions.  But  now  walls  and  towers  were  left  to 
melt  away  under  the  periodical  rains. 

At  Khokar,  the  centre  of  a  cluster  of  villages, 
Yesiiba,    one   of    the    most   efficient   cate-  Reception  by 

Christian 

chists,  had  assembled  his  mahar  friends  to  villagers. 
welcome  the  brethren  from  a  distant  land.  They 
had  all  renounced  idolatry,  and  the  visitors  found 
themselves  in  a  Christian  assembly  forty  miles  from 
the  seat  of  the  mission.  The  Sabbath  was  spent  at 
Wadale,  a  village  near  by,  where  our  tents  were 
pitched  by  the  side  of  a  small  stream,  under  the 
shade  of  a  large  banyan  tree.  The  mission  had 
erected  a  small  chapel  here  several  years  before,  in 
which  Haripunt  formerly  preached,  the  well  known 
converted  brahmin,  who  was  soon  after  ordained 
pastor  of  the  first  church  in  Ahmednuggur.  Mr. 
Ballantine  on  the  Sabbath  addressed  more 

Preaching. 

than  forty   adults,   collected    from  Wadale 

and   eiffht    neighboring    villages.      Eighteen    were 


Location  of 

missionaries. 


268  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

church  members,  and  most  of  the  twenty-four 
others  were  inquirers.  Twelve  church  members 
were  necessarily  absent.  The  morning  sermon  did 
not  fully  arouse  the  laboring  men,  but  in  the  after- 
noon, while  the  preacher  was  expatiating  with  great 
fervor  on  the  consequences  of  a  general  outpouring 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  this  land,  every  eye  was  fixed, 
and  there  was  great  apparent  solemnity.  The  home- 
ward route  led  through  Pimpalgaum,  where  we 
made  the  acquaintance  of  a  second  Yesuba  and  his 
Christian  family. 

At  the  close  of  the  Conference  at  Ahmednuggur, 
Messrs.  Hazen  and  Bowen  were  stationed 
at  Bombay,  Messrs.  Ballantine  and  Barker 
at  Ahmednuggur,  with  Miss  Farrar  and  two  native 
pastors,  and  Mr.  Bissell  at  Seroor.  Mr.  Munger  was 
at  Satara,  Mrs.  Graves  at  Malcolm  Peth,  and  Mr. 
Wilder  at  Kolapur.  Mr.  Fairbauk  left  soon  after 
for  the  United  States,  from  whence  he  returned 
early  in  1857,  and  took  up  his  residence  at  Wadale, 
a  village  twenty-five  miles  northeast  from  Ahmed- 
nuggur, on  the  macadamized  road  to  Aurungabad. 
He  had  married  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Ballantine.  Mr. 
caseofMr.  B°wen  having  adopted  sentiments  adverse 
to  the  baptism  of  infant  children,  resigned 
his  connection  with  the  Board,  but  continued  his 
acceptable  aid  as  a  preacher,  which  he  has  done  to 
the  present   time.1      Messrs.  Charles    Harding  and 

1  Since  the  above  was  written,  my  attention  has  been  called  to  The 


Accession  to 
the  mission 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  269 

Samuel  C.  Deau  and   their  wives  arrived  early  in 
1857.     Mr.  and   Mrs.  Abbott  returned  to 
India   in   June,   after   an    absence  of   ten 
years. 

The  government  had  now  taken  up  the  work  of 
establishing  vernacular  schools  in  the  vil-  „ 

~  Government 

lages,  and   English    schools    in    the    large  8ch00ls' 
towns,  so  that  the  missionaries  began  to  see  their 
way  clear  to  leave  the  drudgery  of  secular  education 
to    government  institutions.     Tours    for   preaching 
became    interesting.     Such    was   one    per-  Tf. 

O  1  Itinerant 

funned  by  Messrs.  Ballautine  and  Fairbank  v™**** 
in  the  northeastern  part  of  their  field.  In  Dedgaum 
they  admitted  six  persons  to  the  church,  four  of 
whom  were  from  as  many  different  villages,  "  men 
of  influence  among  their  people,  who  gave  good  evi- 
dence of  a  change  of  character."  This  part  of  the 
valley  of  the  Godavari  seemed  quite  promising.  In- 
deed they  spoke  of  the  valley  as  the  "  promised 
land  "  of  Western  India.  Not  less  than  eighty  vil- 
lages were  within  ten  miles  of  Wadale,  and  meetings 
held  in  those  where  Christians  resided  Mr.  Fairbank 
compares  to  well  remembered  school-house  meetings 
in  New  England  parishes,  or  more  aptly,  perhaps,  to 

Bombay  Guardian,  edited  by  Mr.  Bowen,  of  November  1,  1873,  in 
which  he  announces  his  return  to  his  former  views  on  this  subject 
This  he  does  in  the  following'  language  :  "  Lately  we  have  come  to 
look  at  the  matter  under  another  light,  and  believe  now  that  we  have 
been  in  error  in  denying  the  Scriptural  warrant  for  the  baptism  of  the 
infant  children  of  believers." 


270  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

the  meetings  of  Methodist  riders  in  the  West,  some- 
times in  school-houses,  sometimes  in  private  houses, 
and  sometimes  under  trees. 

Mr.  Barker  spent  fifteen  days  among-  the  villages 
interesting  °*  ms  ^e^t  with  two  native  assistants. 
Reaching*  Gahu  on  horseback,  at  nine  iu 
the  morning,  while  waiting  for  his  luggage,  the 
people  gathered  around  him  under  the  shade  of  a 
tree,  and  did  all  in  their  power  for  his  comfort.  In 
the  evening  the  tent  was  filled  with  interested  hear- 
ers. Retiring  at  half-past  nine  for  their  evening 
meal,  they  afterwards  gathered  in  the  ehawadi1  to 
receive  instruction,  and  nothing  occurred  to  call  off 
the  attention  of  the  people  from  the  customary  exer- 
cises of  reading,  singing,  preaching,  and  prayer. 

Five  or  six  of  the  most  prominent  mahars  had 
ceased  to  worship  idols,  and  met  daily  for  reading 
the  Scriptures  and  prayer,  and  there  could  be  no 
reasonable  doubt  that  some  of  them  had  passed 
from  death  unto  life.  There  was  at  least  one  evi- 
dence in  their  favor,  they  had  begun  to  suffer  perse- 
cution from  their  own  caste ;  though  chiefly  from 
a  wealthy  and  very  wicked  man  of  the  cultivator 
caste,  who  was  the  pateel2  of  the  village.  They 
were  importunate  for  some  one  to  instruct  them 
and  their  children.  A  teacher  was  accordingly  sent. 
The  missionary  company  next  pitched  their  tent  at 
Kolhar,  six  miles  from  Gahu,  a  large  village  situated 

1  Or  Rest-house.  2  Headman. 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  271 

on  the  river  Pera,  where  was  the  great  annual  pil- 
grimage in  lienor  of  the  goddess  Bhawanie.  Here 
they  were  received  very  cordially,  and  importuned 
for  a  catechist  and  teacher.  And  the  same  was  re- 
peated at  Anibee,  six  miles  below  Kolhar.  The  Sab- 
bath was  spent  at  Khokar  preaching-  to  an  audience 
of  forty-five  persons,  morning'  and  evening,  ami 
there  was  a  similar  experience  at  Pimpalgauni, 
where  they  spent  an  evening  in  the  house  of  Yc- 
suba,  and  nearly  all  the  mahars  in  the  village  came 
to  see  them. 

Intending*  to  commence  a  station  at  Khokar,  Mr. 
Barker  visited  sixty  villages  at  several  dif-    .  .  . 

JO  A  converted 

ferent  times.  At  Panchegaum  he  met  '  gosivl" 
Harkudas,  a  recently  converted  "  gosavi,"  or  relig- 
ious teaeher,  who  was  well  known  in  all  that  region, 
and  during  the  many  years  that  he  had  been  exer- 
cising his  vocation  had  made  about  four  hundred 
disciples,  many  of  them  men  high  in  authority. 
He  had  visited  numerous  holy  places  in  India,  and 
expended  more  than  two  hundred  rupees  for  idols 
and  relics  from  sacred  shrines.  A  part  of  these  he 
had  disposed  of,  but  the  remainder  he  brought  to 
Mr.  Barker,  to  be  sent  to  America  as  evidence  that 
the  labors  of  the  "  Padre  Sahibs  "  had  not  been  in 
vain. 

In  answer  to  inquiries,  he  said  that  he  made  dis- 
ciples by  sprinkling  water  on  the  head  and  thighs, 
and    giving   the   candidates    milk    to   drink.     They 


272  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

were  also  required  to  make  a  feast  for  himself,  his 
attendants,  and  the  people  of  the  village,  at  an  ex- 
pense of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  rupees.  Wher- 
ever he  went  his  disciples  and  many  others  had 
treated  him  with  almost  divine  honor.  "  In  many 
ways,"  said  he,  "  I  have  deceived  my  countrymen, 
hy  inducing-  them  to  trust  in  false  gods,  and  even  in 
myself,  for  protection  from  evil.  I  have  led  many 
of  them  in  an  evil  way,  but  now,  having-  as  I  trust 
found  the  right  path,  I  wish  to  devote  all  my  pow- 
ers and  the  remainder  of  my  life  to  the  work  of 
telling  them  of  the  Saviour."  He  was  now  perse- 
cuted, of  course,  especially  by  his  old  disciples,  but 
he  bore  their  reproaches  with  meekness.  Harkudas 
accompanied  the  missionary  for  several  days,  and 
rendered  important  aid. 

Mr.  Ballantiue,  about  this  time,  called  attention 
v  to  certain  encouraging  facts.     One  was  the 

Encouraging  »       » 

f^ts.  great  progress  of  deistical  principles  among 

the  Hindus,  the  effect  of  education  and  European 
ideas.  The  system  adopted  professed  to  be  the  re- 
ligion of  nature,  admitting  the  existence  of  one 
God,  but  denying  a  revelation  from  Him.  The  num- 
ber holding  these  sentiments  was  so  large  as  per- 
ceptibly to  weaken  the  power  of  caste,  and  the 
bondage  to  Hinduism.  Generally  it  had  not  the 
malignant  spirit  of  infidelity  in  Christian  lands,  and 
to  a  certain  extent  was  auxiliary  to  the  Gospel,  for 
with  many  it  was  a  stepping'-stone  from  Hinduism 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  273 

to  Christianity.  Another  cheering  fact  was  the  in- 
fluence of  the  truth  on  the  higher  castes  beyond  the 
limits  of  mission  schools.  Interesting-  cases  of  con- 
version occurred  of  persons  not  in  missionary  em- 
ployment, nor  educated  in  mission  schools.  Still 
another,  was  the  increasing-  value  of  the  native 
agency  throughout  the  whole  field.  An  assistant 
teacher  in  the  government  school  at  Ahmednuggur, 
when  he  became  a  Christian,  was  in  the  receipt  of 
fifteen  rupees,  or  seven  dollars  and  a  half,  a  month. 
Another  place  was  offered  him  at  fifty  rupees  a 
month,  with  a  prospect  of  advancement  and  still 
higher  pay.  He  turned  away  from  both  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  mission,  at  a  monthly  salary  of  twelve 
rupees.  Another  young  man  declined  a  salary  of 
forty  rupees  for  the  same  purpose.  The  develop- 
ment of  Christian  character  in  some  of  the  converts 
was  full  of  promise. 

Mr.  Wilder's  labors  at  Kolapur  promised  well,  but 
ill  health  obliged  him  and  Mrs.  Wilder  to   .,    ...... 

o  Mr.  W  uder 

visit  the  United  States.  Of  two  brahmin  at  KoUpfir- 
teachers  who  had  been  baptized  at  Kolapur,  one  had 
been  an  inquirer  four  years,  and  his  wife  and  son 
were  candidates  for  baptism.  More  than  two  hun- 
dred thousand  pages  of  Scriptnre  were  put  in  circu- 
lation. It  should  be  thankfully  recorded,  that  the 
only  loss  of  life  in  connection  with  the  great  mutiny 
of  1857  in  the  Bombay  Presidency,  was  in  Kolapur, 
and  that  this  did  not  occur  until  after  the  departure 

18 


274  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilder.  Had  they  been  on  the 
ground,  there  is  much  reason  to  suppose  that  their 
lives  could  not  have  been  saved. 

The  mutiny  exerted  an  unhappy  influence,  for  a 
influence  of  time>  ou  the  people  of  Ahmednuggur, 
te  mutiny.    wjiere  many  Mohammedans    reside.     The 

missionaries  often  heard  predictions,  that  their  day 
would  soon  come,  and  that  the  first  persons  to  be  at- 
tacked would  be  the  missionaries  and  their  converts. 
Yet  they  remained,  and  kept  up  all  the  regular  re- 
ligious services,  except  street-preaching.  But  the 
number  of  hopeful  conversions  was  less  than  usual. 

Mr.  Ballantine  wrote  thus,  in  1858,  concerning 
the  mutiny  in  general :  "  A  few  native  Christians 
and  missionaries  were  murdered  in  Northern  India, 
though  even  there,  the  great  mass  of  converts  were 
preserved.  Those  who  were  called  to  die  for  the 
name  of  Christ,  and  many  who  survived,  exhibited 
the  greatest  constancy  in  extreme  danger;  showing 
that  they  preferred  giving  up  their  life  to  abandon- 
ing their  faith.  Facts  of  this  kind  have  recently 
come  to  light  in  great  abundance,  proving  to  the 
whole  world,  that  the  native  Christians,  whom  it  has 
been  the  fashion  in  high  places  to  deride  as  unwor- 
thy of  any  confidence,  are  really  possessed  of  strong 
Christian  principle,  able  to  sustain  them  in  the  hour 
of  greatest  temptation.  Thus  the  value  of  that  re- 
ligion which  we  are  endeavoring  to  propagate  here, 
has  been  shown  to  all ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  JT'j 

such  atrocities  have  been  perpetrated  by  the  wild 
Hindu,  and  sueh  outrages  committed  upon  innocent 
and  helpless  women  and  children,  by  natives  who 
had  received  a  good  education,  that  no  one  can 
hereafter  maintain,  as  has  heretofore  been  main- 
tained by  many,  that  Hinduism  is  as  good  for  Hin- 
dus as  Christianity  for  Christians." 

The  school  for  catechists  at  Ahmednug'gur  con- 
tained twenty  scholars  under  the  special  0 
care  of  Mr.  Ballantine  ;  and  there  was  a  ^SS^ng. 
preparatory  school  of  children  of  Christian  gur 
parents,  under  the  care  of  Miss  Parrar ;  who  also 
had  a  large  school  of  heathen  girls,  supported  by 
English  ladies  and  gentlemen  at  that  station.  A 
school  for  Christian  girls,  under  the  charge  of  Mrs. 
Ballantine,  contained  forty  pupils.  Mr.  Ballantine 
gave  lectures  on  theology,  and  on  portions  of  the 
Old  Testament,  which  were  well  attended.  He  had 
also  a  small  class  in  the  Sanskrit  language.  At  the 
close  of  1857,  four  young  men  went  forth  from  the 
school  for  catechists;  and  four  others  from  the  same 
school,  and  two  from  the  girls'  school  were  received 
into  the  church.  The  number  of  churches  in  the 
Ahmednuggur  district  was  now  eight,  containing 
two  hundred  and  forty  members,  of  whom  fifty-six 
were  received  by  profession  during  the  year.  Nine 
joined  in  the  darkest  period  of  the  rebellion,  though 
assured  by  their  neighbors  that  speedy  martyrdom 
would  be  the  consequence.     One  of  these  was  Hark- 


276  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

Adas,  the  "  gosavi  "  already  mentioned,  who  became 
a  zealous  preacher. 

Yesuba    Powar  died  in    December,  1857,  at   the 
yeaflba         age  of  fifty.     He  was  a  mahar,  born  in  a 

Powar  as  a  ,  , 

derotee.  small  village  west  or  Ahmednuggur.  An 
older  brother,  previously  converted,  was  a  deacon  in 
the  first  church  of  Ahmednuggur,  and  one  younger 
belonged  to  the  church  in  Satara.  Yesuba  had  been 
very  religious  as  a  pagan.  Going  to  Benares  on  the 
Ganges  in  the  service  of  an  English  gentleman,  he 
was  punctilious  in  observing  all  the  rites  prescribed 
by  the  brahmins  of  that  holy  place;  and  brought  on 
his  shoulder  a  load  of  the  Ganges  water  eight  hun- 
dred miles  to  his  home,  wearing  the  yellow  garb  of 
a  pilgrim.  This  no  mahar  had  ever  done  before, 
and  the  use  he  made  of  the  water,  on  his  return, 
procured  him  great  consideration.  The  people  of 
the  villages  would  fall  down  at  his  feet  in  token  of 
reverence.  About  twelve  years  after  this  he  came 
to  Ahmednuggur,  where  his  elder  Christian  brother 
resided,  and  the  light  of  the  Gospel  soon  entered 
his  darkened  understanding.  He  no  longer  trusted 
in  the  waters  of  the  Ganges,  but  in  the  blood  of 
Christ.  Casting  aside  the  pilgrim's  dress,  he  sought 
to  be  clothed  with  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  On 
the  6th  of  October,  1844,  he  was  baptized,  and 
joined  the  Christian  Church. 

For   the   remainder    of    his   life,   Yesuba   was   a 
preacher  of  the  Gospel.     During  several  years   he 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  277 

accompanied  different  missionaries  in  their  itinerant 
labors  ;  and  then  he  was  five  years  associ-    . 

7  •>  As  a 

ated  with  Mr.  Munger  in  his  long  tours  preacher' 
into  portions  of  the  country  where  the  Gospel  had 
not  been  proclaimed.  In  1856,  being-  no  longer 
able  to  endure  the  fatigues  of  travel,  and  a  church 
having'  been  formed  at  Loni,  in  his  native  region, 
he  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  it,  which  he  did 
until  his  death,  performing  the  duties  with  great 
faithfulness.  He  left  a  wife  and  four  sons,  and  his 
eldest  son  succeeded  him  for  a  time  in  the  care  of 
the  Loni  church. 

Yesuba  Salave,  of  Pimpalgaum,  died  in  the  same 
year  with  the  preceding,  on  the  anniversary  yesaba 
of  the  day  in  which  he  and  seven  others  SaJilve 
had  been  formed  into  the  Chande  church.  This 
church  of  eight  members  afterwards  increased  to 
eighty.  He  held  the  office  of  deacon,  and  was  ex- 
emplary in  all  things.  He  was  a  mahar,  but  from 
childhood  felt  above  the  condition  and  employments 
of  his  race.  He  chose  the  business  of  buying  and 
selling  cattle,  prospered  in  it,  and  was  esteemed  a 
man  of  substance  and  ability.  He  was  baptized  by 
Mr.  Wilder  in  1850.     A  storm  of  nersecu-  TII 

*  Ills  persecu- 

tion then  burst  upon  him.     His  cattle  and   tlons 

horses  were  poisoned  one  after  another,  until  all 
were  gone.  But  he  said,  "  Though  my  sorrows  be- 
come as  great  as  Job's,  I  will  not  deny  my  Lord." 
His   persecutors    despairing   of   success,    ceased   to 


278  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

annoy  him,  and  he  resumed  his  business.     His  part- 
ners in  trade  deemed  his  judgment  almost  infallible. 
As  a  Christian,  he  was  earnest   and  deeided.     In 
Hischarac-     his  conversation  he  dwelt  much  ou  relig- 

ter  delituv 

ated.  ious  subjects,  and  he  strove  to  set  a  good 

example.  To  show  that  he  had  no  caste  feelings,  he 
sought  often  to  drink  water  from  the  hands  of  the 
despised  mangs.  He  was  hospitable  and  generous. 
The  writer  remembers  with  pleasure  the  visit  to  him 
with  Mr.  Ballantine.  He  was  untiring  in  efforts  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  his  church,  and  had  the  joy 
of  seeing  his  wife  and  all  his  children  included 
among  the  members.  Yesuba,  though  valuable  as  a 
fellow-laborer,  was  never  in  the  service  of  the  mis- 
sion ;  and  so  far  from  gaining  money  by  a  profes- 
sion of  Christianity,  he  suffered  reproach  and  loss. 
He  loved  the  Sabbath,  and  the  assembly  of  the 
saints ;  and  attended  the  Sabbath  morning  service 
at  Wadale,  and  the  afternoon  service  at  Chande, 
places  two  miles  from  his  residence  and  in  opposite 
directions.  In  the  evening,  he  had  a  special  service 
at  his  own  house.  That  he  was  a  sincere,  earnest 
Christian,  was  acknowledged  even  by  his  enemies. 

As  his  end  drew  nigh,  he  appeared  to  ripen  fast 
for  heaven  ;  and  when  admonished  of  approaching 
death,  he  set  his  house  in  order,  and  charged  his 
son,  who  was  to  have  the  homestead,  "  never  to  for- 
get to  put  the  rupee  into  the  missionary  box  on  the 
first  Monday  of  the  month."     At  length  he  asked 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAI  WATT  AS.  279 

to  be  carried  to  the  room  where  he  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  have  family  prayers,  and  there  he  gently 
breathed  out  his  spirit. 

Mr.  Harding  was  now  able  to  commence  preach- 
ing  at   Bombay  in   the   native  language ;   Pastor  Rem- 
and in  view  of  the  great  importance  of  the  punts  re- 
moval to 
station,    Rarakrishnapunt    exchanged    the  Bouibay. 

pastorate  of  the  second  church  in  Ahmednuggur  for 
that  of  the  church  in  Bombay. 

The  great  problem  of  the  practicability  of  village 
stations,  was  now  regarded  as  settled,  and  the  Ah- 
mednuggnr  field  was  divided  into  districts,  with  a 
view  to  its  more  perfect  cultivation. 

Haripunt,  one  of  the  native  pastors  at  Ahmed- 
nuggur,  spent  a  part  of  1857  in  very  ac-  rastor  irari- 
ceptable  service  as  preacher  at  Satara.  tara. 
Messrs.  Muuger  and  Wood  had  found  that  people 
difficult  of  access.  The  distance  from  Ahmednug- 
gur  was  one  hundred  and  forty  miles,  and  the  nu- 
merous native  helpers  were  exceedingly  averse  to 
residing  so  far  from  home.     The  station  at  KoiapOr  sta- 

.  ,  tion  discon- 

Kolapur  was  discontinued  in  October,  1858.  tinued. 

In  October,  1859,  Mrs.  Wood  of  Satara  was  at- 
tacked   by  cholera  on    her  return  from  a  Deathof 

meeting  of  the  missionaries  at  Ahmednug-  M"  u ' 

gur,  a  day's  journey  from  her  home.  On  reaching 
Satara  she  had  every  possible  attention,  but  after 
three  days  of  extreme  suffering,  on  the  18th  of  No- 
vember she  entered  into  rest.     Thus  was  Satara  left 


280  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

for  the  fourth  time  without  the  presence  of  a  Chris- 
tian woman.  Mrs.  Wood  had  endeared  herself  to 
her  missionary  associates  and  to  the  natives. 

Shaik  Daood,  a  converted  Mohammedan  and 
Death  of  a  member  of  the  church  in  Ahmednuggur, 
vert.  came   to   Bombay   for   the   benefit   of  his 

health  in  1S57.  As  this  improved  he  was  much 
occupied  in  efforts  among  the  Mohammedans.  His 
health  gradually  failed,  and  on  the  1st  of  June  he 
died.  For  eight  years  he  had  been  an  exemplary 
Christian.  He  was  baptized  in  1847,  but  soon  after 
renounced  his  faith,  not  being  able  to  endure  the 
trial  which  had  come  upon  him,  and  struggled 
against  his  convictions  of  truth  for  five  years,  when 
he  wished  to  rejoin  the  church.  His  profession  of 
penitence  was  most  satisfactory,  and  he  was  received 
again  to  church  membership  in  January,  1853.  His 
end  was  peace.  His  face  beaming  with  joy,  he  said 
to  the  missionary,  "  I  cannot  tell  you  how  precious 
Christ  seems  to  me,  how  unspeakably  lovely.  How 
wonderful  that  he  should  have  compassion  on  one 
like  me!  His  love  is  infinite,  it  is  divine  love." 
"While  connected  with  the  church,  he  prepared  sev- 
eral books  and  tracts  which  are  exerting  a  good  in- 
fluence. Among  these  is  an  adaptation  of  Leslie's 
"  Short  Method  with  Deists  "  to  the  circumstances 
of  the  people  of  India. 

A  licentiate  named  Vishnu  Karmarkar,  who  had 
acted   as    pastor  of  the  second  church  in  Ahmed- 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  281 

nuggur   in    the   absence   of   Ramkrishnapunt,  was 
ordained  pastor  in  June,  1860.    Two  other 

*■  '  A  p:istor  or- 

native    pastors  assisted  at  the  ordination,  JJJJEJ^JL. 
and  several  native  gentlemen  were  present  gur' 
in  token  of  their  respect  and  esteem  for  the  candi- 
date.   The  church  at  Seroor  had  also  a  native  pastor 
ordained  in  June,  1859. 

Early  in  this  year,  C.  E.  Frazer  Tytler,  Esq.,  Col- 
lector in  the  Ahmednuggur  District,  while  Generous  aid 
encamped  between  the  Pera  and  Godavari  ushfriend. 
rivers,  near  the  village  of  Pimplas,  was  deprived  of 
a  daughter  by  death.  The  gentleman  and  his  wife 
were  warm  friends  of  the  missionary  cause,  and  on 
the  spot  where  the  child  died  they  erected  a  neat 
stone  church,  and  near  it  a  convenient  house  for  the 
residence  of  a  missionary,  which  were  presented  to 
the  mission.  The  cost  was  $2,000,  and  thus  orig- 
inated the  rural  station  of  Pimplas. 

In  August  of  this  year  Lord  Elphinstone,  Governor 
of  Bombay,  spending  a  few  weeks  with  the  visit  from 
excellent  Collector  at  Ahmednugg-ur,  sig-  of  Bombay. 
nified  a  wish  to  see  the  mission  schools.  They  were 
accordingly  brought  together  in  the  mission  chapel, 
and  the  Governor  and  his  suite  came  in.  The  girls 
of  Mrs.  Ballantine's  school,  the  boys  from  the  school 
for  catechists,  and  the  members  of  the  theological 
class,  were  examined  in  various  branches  of  study. 
The  audience  were  much  interested,  especially  when 
they  were  told  that  all  those  young  men,  and  the 


282  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

boys  and  girls  of  the  schools,  were  either  converts 
or  children  of  converts.  A  large  number  of  native 
Christians  assembled  in  the  chapel,  at  the  request 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Tytler,  and  the  Governor  was 
pleased  to  see,  that  a  change  of  dress  was  not  re- 
quired of  the  converts,  as  it  would  diminish  their 
influence  among  their  own  people. 

The  exercises  were  commenced  by  singing  the 
Mahratta  Hymn,  "God  save  the  Queen,"  and  closed 
by  singing  in  Mahratta  Bishop  Heber's  Missionary 
Hymn,  and  the  whole  company  stood  while  these 
hymns  were  sung.  Lord  Elphinstone  expressed  him- 
self much  pleased  with  the  examination,  not  only  to 
the  missionaries  personally,  but  afterwards  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Tytler.  On  Friday  Mrs.  Tytler  invited 
the  girls  of  Mrs.  Ballantine's  and  Miss  Farrar's 
schools,  and  the  Christian  women,  to  an  entertain- 
ment in  her  garden.  The  Governor  afterwards  made 
a  donation  of  five  hundred  rupees. 

In  November,  Mr.  Ballantine  formed  a  class  for  a 
Theoio  cai  course  °f  study  preparatory  to  becoming 
class.  preachers  and  eventually  pasttrs,  to  be  in- 

structed only  in  the  vernacular.  Eight  were  se- 
lected, all  having  been  members  of  the  church  for 
two  or  three  years,  and  some  of  them  assistants  of 
the  mission  for  several  years.  The  course  was  for 
three  years,  seven  months  in  each  year  being  de- 
voted to  study,  and  the  pupils  were  to  spend  at  least 
every  alternate  Sabbath  in  preaching  at  some  neigh- 
boring village. 


MISSION  TO   TI1E  MAHRATTAS.  283 

A  step  was  taken  by  the  Government,  about  this 
time,   of  vital    importance   to    the    native  . 

'  L  Important 

Christians.  The  brahmins  taught  that  f^toi^I?" 
the  public  tanks  would  be  defiled  by  a 
Christian's  drawing  water  therefrom.  The  Chris- 
tians very  properly  insisted  on  their  rights,  and  the 
heathen  petitioned  the  government  to  order  con- 
verts not  to  take  water  from  the  public  fountains. 
The  decision  of  Mr.  Tytler  deserves  a  grateful  no- 
tice. "  The  main  statement  in  this  petition,"  he 
said,  "  is  untrue.  Vishuupunt's  wife  is  not  a  mahar, 
or  woman  of  low  caste.  Vishnupunt  is  a  brahmin 
converted  to  Christianity.  His  wife  is  a  Kunabee, 
also  converted.  Before  conversion  he  and  his  wife 
had  full  right  to  draw  water  from  the  tank  in  ques- 
tion. He  has  not  forfeited  this  right,  nor  any  other, 
by  his  conversion  to  Christianity.  On  the  contrary 
the  law  insures  him  every  right  which  he  possessed 
before  his  conversion  to  Christianity.  This  law  will 
be  enforced,  and  those  acting  contrary  thereto  pun- 
ished. In  Bombay  and  in  many  other  places  all 
classes  of  the  community,  Christian  converts,  Hin- 
dus, and  Mohammedans,  have  free  access  to  all  the 
public  tanks  and  wells.  Petitioners  seek  to  debar 
Vishnupunt  and  his  family  from  the  use  of  the  pub- 
lic tanks  solely  because  he  is  a  Christian.  But  it  is 
well  known  that  if  a  mang  or  mahar  woman  marries 
;i  Mussulman,  she  is  allowed  to  use  the  tanks  in 
virtue    of    this   change   in    her   relations.      Cattle, 


284  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

horses,  donkeys,  prostitutes,  all  have  access  to  the 
public  tanks,  and  yet  this  common  and  obvious  right 
petitioners  seek  to  deny  to  a  man,  whose  high  re- 
spectability they  themselves  dare  not  and  cannot 
gainsay." 

A  petition  was  then  sent  to  Lord  Elphinstone, 
the  Governor  in  Council  at  Bombay,  and  the  reply 
was,  if  possible,  still  more  decisive,  and  the  decision, 
upon  a  renewal  of  the  petition  next  year,  was  de- 
clared to  be  final.  A  similar  order  was  also  issued 
by  the  government  in  reference  to  the  admission 
of  native  Christian  children  into  the  public  schools. 
The  ground  thus  taken  was  new,  and  its  great  im- 
portance is  manifest. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Mahratta  mission 
juwiee  *u  October,  1860,  in  connection  with  the 
meeting.  Jubilee  meeting  of  the  Board,  a  very  large 
number  of  native  Christians  were  in  attendance,  and 
there  was  much  enthusiasm.  More  than  four  hun- 
dred communicants  sat  down  at  the  table  of  the 
Lord,  being  the  largest  assembly  of  native  Chris- 
tians ever  gathered  together  on  that  side  of  India. 

There  was  now  such  demand  for  houses  of  worship 
Erection  of  that  Mr.  Tytler  contributed  six  hundred 
chapeis.  dollars  toward  the  erection  of  chapels  in 
five  villages,  the  Christians  engaging  to  pay  the 
balance ;  he  also  paid  half  the  expense  of  a  chapel 
at  Rahuri,  costing  four  hundred  dollars. 

Recent  converts  at  Rahuri  were  subjected  to  per- 


MISSION  TO    THE  MALI  11  ATT  AS.  285 

sedition.  The  spread  of  Christianity  had  acquired 
importance  in  the  community  by  the  decis-  Persecution 
ions  of  Government  on  the  water  question.  ^fp^ec. 
Low  caste  persons  had  thus  acquired  new 
and  important  privileges  by  becoming  Christians. 
They  could  use  water  from  the  public  wells,  send 
their  children  to  the  public  schools,  and  occupy  the 
public  rest-houses.  The  leaders  in  the  Rahiiri  perse- 
cution were  mostly  men  of  wealth  and  position.  The 
case  was  tried,  and  five  of  them  were  sentenced 
each  to  a  month's  imprisonment  and  a  fine  of  fifty 
rupees ;  two  were  fined  fifty  rupees,  and  the  head- 
man of  the  village  one  hundred  rupees. 

The  Missionary  Herald  for  1861  contains  a  valu- 
able  letter   from  Mr.   Ballantine,   written  Kncouraging 
early  in  that  year,  giving  a  retrospect  of  wtM8Pec- 
the  Ahmednuggur  branch  of  the  Mission.     When 
he  arrived,  in  1835,  it  had  been  established  only  four 
years.     There  were  then  twelve  persons  in  the  na- 
tive church,  and  three  resident  missionaries.    Seroor 
was  occupied  in  1846,  Khokar  in  1856,  Wadale  in       «■ 
1857,  and  Rahuri  in  1860.    In  1861,  there  were  five    ' 
stations  in  the  Ahmednuggur  branch,  with  five  mar- 
ried missionaries  and  one   unmarried  female ;  and 
sixteen  native  churches  contained  four  hundred  and 
seventy-three  members. 

The  following'  table  shows  the  gradual  increase  in 
membership  since  1831.     The  period  is  di-   increase  in 

church 

vided  into  terms   of   five   years,  that   the  membership. 


286  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

progress   may  be   more   apparent.     Mr.  Ballautine 
thus  states  the  case  :  — 


;' Members  received  from  1831  to  1835,  inclusive 
Members  received  from  183G  to  1840,  inclusive 
Members  received  from  1841  to  1845,  inclusive 
Members  received  from  1846  to  1850,  inclusive 
Members  received  from  1851  to  1855,  inclusive 
Members  received  from  1856  to  1860,  inclusive 


9 

7 

75 

63 

78 
363 


"Total 595 

"  The  members  received  during  the  last  five  years 
are  as  follows:  in  1856,  30;  1857,  56;  1858,  86; 
1859,  64 ;  1860,  127.     Total,  363. 

"  From  this  it  will  be  seen,  that  the  average  for 
each  term  of  five  years,  from  1840  to  1855,  was  just 
seventy-two,  exactly  nine  times  the  average  of  the 
first  two  terms  of  five  years ;  while  the  number  re- 
ceived during  the  last  term  of  five  years,  was  five 
times  as  great  as  the  average  for  five  years  from 
1840  to  1855,  and  forty-five  times  as  great  as  the 
average  for  ten  years  from  1831  to  1840.  Again,  it 
appears,  that  the  number  received  during  each  year 
of  the  last  five  years  was,  on  au  average,  seventy- 
two,  the  same  as  the  average  number  received  dur- 
ing each  period  of  five  years  from  1841  to  1855. 

"  Should  it  be  asked,  how  the  sudden  increase  in 
r  ..     the  number  of  converts  in  the  last  term  of 

Cause  of  the 

creased"      ^ve    years  can  be  accounted  for,   I  would 
say :  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  new  policy 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  287 

inaugurated  in  the  mission  in  1851,  putting  mis- 
sionaries out  in  the  districts  to  labor  among  the 
people,  has  been  the  means,  in  the  hands  of  God,  of 
greatly  extending  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  and 
of  bringing  many  more  converts  into  our  churches. 
Some  members  of  the  mission  desired  to  see  this 
policy  pursued  ten  years  before  it  was  adopted  ;  but 
the  discussions  of  1854  decided  the  matter,  and  the 
plan  was  at  once  put  in  execution. 

"  Of  the  whole  number  of  converts  mentioned 
above,  sixty-two  have  died,  some  of  them  character  of 

1  •  •  •!    •  o  n  *'le  mem" 

having  given  striking  proofs  of  love  to  bers. 
their  Saviour  during  life,  and  of  joy  in  the  prospect 
of  meeting  Him  as  death  approached.  The  names 
of  Babajee,  blind  Gopal  and  his  wife  Malabain,  of 
Lakhiram,  Yesiiba  Powar,  Yesuba  Salve,  and  others, 
are  very  dear  to  the  hearts  of  Christians  in  this 
country.  No  one  has  exhibited  more  strikingly  the 
power  of  Gospel  truth,  and  the  sustaining  influence 
of  the  promises  of  God,  than  Shaik  Daood,  once  an 
apostate  from  the  truth,  but  brought  back  by  the 
power  of  the  Spirit.  Some  have  died,  who  were 
never  numbered  among  the  people  of  God  on  earth, 
but  who  gave  evidence  that  they  had  put  their  trust 
in  Jesus  for  salvation,  and  looked  forward  to  meet- 
ing Him  in  heaven. 

"  The  converts  received  to  the  mission  churches 
have  come  from  every  class  of  the  com-  Wh(,nce  the 
munity,  Mussulman  and   Hindu.     One  of  coaverts- 


288  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

the  first  conversions  here,  after  I  took  charge  of  the 
church  at  the  close  of  1838,  was  that  of  Haripunt. 
Belonging-  to  a  high  brahmin  family,  his  conversion 
made  a  deep  impression  on  the  brahmins  here  as  to 
the  power  of  the  Gospel.  His  baptism  was  soon 
followed  by  that  of  his  brother  Narayau,  and  from 
that  time  repeated  conversions  occurred  among  the 
higher  castes  in  Ahmeduuggur.  In  1856,  we  had 
four  such  conversions.  Shahu  Dajee,  assistant 
teacher  of  the  government  English  school,  was  a 
brahmin  ;  his  friend,  Cassimbhaee,  the  brother  of 
Shaik  Daood,  was  a  Mussulman,  and  two  other 
young  men  belonged  to  the  weaver  caste.  A  deep 
conviction,  at  that  time,  seemed  to  pervade  all 
classes,  that  nothing  could  resist  the  power  of  the 
truth.  Last  year,  another  young  man  of  the  weaver 
caste  joined  the  church,  and  a  spirit  of  inquiry  ex- 
tended to  others  of  that  class.  Some  are  carefully 
studying  the  Scriptures,  anxious  apparently,  to  as- 
certain what  is  truth.  How  different  all  this  from 
the  state  of  things  in  1835.  How  very  different 
from  what  it  was  from  1831  to  1834." 

He  adds :  "  In  some  directions,  you  can  find 
interests '  Christians  wherever  you  go,  who  are  re- 
joiced to  see  you,  and  to  meet  you  in  di- 
vine worship ;  and  in  villages  here  and  there,  you 
find  also  small  chapels  or  school-houses,  where  the 
people  are  accustomed  to  come  together  to  hear  the 
Scriptures  read  and  to  uuite  in  prayer." 


MISSION  TO    THE  MA /WATT AS.  289 

The  following1  additional  extracts  from  Mr.  Bal- 
lantine  are  too  suggestive  to  be  omitted  :  — 

"  We  have  always  been  protected  by  the  authori- 
ties, and  our  converts  have  also  received  g*-*"^ 
that  protection  of  life  and  person,  which  ««*. 
they  had  a  right  to  claim  from  their  rulers.     But 
when  I  came  here,  Christian  converts  could  not  in- 
herit any  of  their  parents'  property;  it  must  all  be 
given  up  to  the  heathen  heirs.     Children  could  not 
claim  their  own  father's  estate,  even  though  they 
were  his  only  children,  for  his  brothers,  or  other  rel- 
atives who  remained   heathens,  could    claim  it  for 
themselves.     Such  was  the  law,  and  the  courts  of 
justice  could   furnish  no   relief.     Now  all   this   is 

changed. 

"  Whether,  therefore,  we  consider  the  march  of 
events  in  the  political  world  ;  the  enactment  of  just 
laws  and  regulations,  giving  equal  rights  to  Chris- 
tians, and  the  efforts  of   Government   to   promote 
education   and  facilities  of  intercourse;  or  whether 
we  look  at  the  operations  of  our  own  and  other  mis- 
sions and  benevolent  societies  in  India,  we  feel  that 
there  is  abundant  cause  for  thanksgiving  to  God  for 
past   favors,  and   encouragement  to   labor   for    the 
coming  of  his  kingdom.     What  has  been  done  is 
in  itself  not  much,  but  it  is   of  great  importance 
when  considered  as  a  preparation  for  the  future." 

This   eminent  missionary  having   seen   it   stated, 
that   the    change    of    policy    in   1851  had  alienated 


19 


290  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

the  good  will  of  the  higher  castes,  and  that  there 

increasing      had   since   been    no  convert  from    among 

from  the        them,    declared   that   to  be  a  great    mis- 
higher 
«wk».  take.     Writing  in  1861,  he  said:  "We  are 

having  more  intercourse  with  the  higher  castes  than 
we  ever  had  before.  And  this  intercourse  is  very 
friendly  and  pleasant.  Some  of  them  are  regular 
attendants  on  our  Sabbath  services,  apart  from  in- 
quirers and  those  desirous  of  being  admitted  to  the 
church.  We  have  never  had  so  many  persons  of 
high  caste  brought  into  our  churches  in  any  period 
of  five  years  before,  as  since  1856.  Onr  inquirers, 
too,  at  the  present  time,  from  the  higher  castes,  are 
more  than  usual." 

The  railway  from  Bombay  to  Madras  goes  by  way 
a  ,   .  of  Poona  and  Solapiir ;  and  in  1861,  when 

station.        |.|ie  gf^ion  was  commenced  at  Solapiir,  it 

had  been  completed  to  that  place,  a  distance  of  two 
hundred  and  seventy-five  miles;  excepting  six  miles 
on  the  Ghats  that  required  immense  labor.  The 
population  of  the  city  was  estimated  at  70,000.  It 
is  slightly  elevated  above  the  surrounding  country, 
and  encircled  by  a  high  wall.  As  many  as  fifty 
villages  lie  within  ten  miles.  The  distance  from 
thence  to  Satara  is  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
west,  and  to  Ahmednuggur  about  the  same  distance 
northwest.  Mr.  Harding  regarded  this  field  as  very 
interesting.  In  respect  to  the  character  of  the 
people,  and  the  facilities  for  reaching  them,  he 
thought  it  second  to  no  other  on  that  side  of  India. 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  201 

Among-  the  occurrences  in  the  year  1861,  was  an 
unexpected  development  of  the  benevolent 

1  l  Unexpected 

spirit  among-  native  church  members.  The  ^^{j^:11* 
principal  means  of  stirring-  up  the  Chris- 
tians of  Ahmednugg-ur  was  an  account  of  extraor- 
dinary benevolent  contributions  by  Nestorians  at 
Oroomiah,  read  to  them  by  pastor  Vishniipunt. 
This  was  in  a  letter  from  a  deacon  in  the  Nestorian 
church.  He  also  read  a  letter  from  a  member  of 
the  Madura  mission  mentioning-  similar  scenes 
there,  resulting-  from  the  same  cause,  and  he  felt 
that  he  and  his  brethren  should  do  likewise.  Alter 
many  strug-g-les  with  his  own  heart,  he  said  he  had 
determined  to  g-ive  one  month's  salary  to  the  mis- 
sionary cause,  and  so  saying-  he  placed  twenty- five 
rupees  on  the  table.  This  moved  the  brethren,  who 
immediately  began  to  make  their  offering's.  Many 
affecting-  scenes  occurred,  and  most  of  the  congre- 
gation were  moved  to  tears.  The  meeting  was  ad- 
journed to  the  next  day,  when  it  was  yet  more  evi- 
dent that  the  Spirit  was  shedding  the  love  of  Christ 
into  the  hearts  of  Christians.  The  missionaries 
were  strongly  reminded  by  what  they  then  saw  of 
precious  revival  seasons  in  their  native  land. 

At  the  next  monthly  concert  in  Bombay  letters 
were  read  describing-  the  meeting  at  Ahmednuggur, 
and  a  native  who  had  just  come  from  there  made  a 
stirring  address.  The  meeting,  though  prolonged, 
was  adjourned  to  the  next  evening,  and  the  native 


292  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

pledges  were  three  hundred  and  thirty-five  rupees. 
At  Ahmednuggur  they  were  five  hundred. 

It  was  natural,  on  the  breaking  out  of  civil  war 
in  America,  that  the  missionaries  should 

Generous  pe-  ' 

tothTmis-  apprehend  a  serious  diminution  in  the 
funds  of  the  Board,  and  these  apprehen- 
sions they  made  known  to  their  friends,  both  native 
and  English.  Four  hundred  rupees  were  received 
from  natives  not  Christian,  six  hundred  and  seventy- 
three  from  Christian  natives  (in  part  payment  of 
pledges),  11,637  from  European  friends  in  India, 
and  1,497  from  friends  in  England  and  Scotland, 
formerly  resident  in  India.  They  were  agreeably 
surprised,  soon  after,  to  find  that  the  war  had  not 
seriously  affected  the  benevolent  contributions  of  the 
American  churches. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MISSION   TO   THE    MAHRATTAS. 

1862-1868. 

Twenty-three    churches    were    now   connected 
with  the  Mahratta  mission,  which  had  in  Thenative 

.        i  i  v     •     „.  *•»     churches. 

1862  about  six  hundred  members,  living  in 
nearly  a  hundred  villages  and  towns.  But  in  half 
of  these  villages  the  mission  had  not  yet  been  able 
to  place  native  catechists  to  conduct  religious  ser- 
vices on  the  Sabbath.  The  raising  up  of  such  men 
was  necessarily  a  slow  process. 

In  the   year   1863  a   younger   brother   of  Shaik 
Daood  was  ordained  pastor  of  the  church  Nativepas. 

P  j.  ,       tor  ordained. 

at  Khokar,  in  the  presence  ot  representa- 
tives from  ten  different  churches.    He  had  been  bap- 
tized by  Pastor  Modak  three  years  before. 

The  introduction  of  sacred  hymns  into  the  native 
churches,  sung  in  the  tunes  which  cheer  the  hearts 
of  the  people  of  God  in  Christian  lands,  was  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  chapter.  In  addition  to 
this  the  church  pressed  into  the  service  of  TheKirtt.m 
Christ,  with  good  effect,  the  Kirttan,  in 
which' a  "gosavi"  or  religious  teacher  celebrated 


294  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

the  praises  of  some  god  with  singing  and  instru- 
mental music.  The  experiment  of  applying-  the 
Kirttan  to  Christian  use  appears  to  have  been  first 
made  at  Ahmednuggur,  one  evening  during  the  an- 
niversary of  1862,  and  the  Man  of  Calvary  was  the 
grand  subject.  The  poetry  was  chiefly  composed  by 
Krishnarow,  a  young  native  brother  possessed  of 
much  poetic  feeling.  Three  or  four  persons  stood 
back  of  him  on  the  platform,  and  at  the  close  of 
every  verse  joined  in  a  chorus.  After  singing  a  few 
verses  in  this  manner,  an  exposition  of  the  song  was 
given  by  the  leader.  There  was  much  artistic  skill 
exhibited  in  the  music,  and  in  its  adaptation  to  the 
poetry. 

In  1862,  the  mission  was  called  to  mourn  the 
_  „   ,        death  of  Miss  Cynthia  Farrar,  its   oldest 

Denth  of  <f  ' 

Miss  Fanar.  memi)er  save  01iej  s]ie  having*  been  con- 
nected with  it  for  almost  thirty-five  years,  first  at 
Bombay,  and  since  1839  at  Ahmednuggur.  Her 
life  had  been  faithfully  devoted  to  the  education  of 
her  own  sex,  and  her  end  was  peace. 

Messrs.  Henry  W.  Ballantine,  a  nephew  of  the 
veteran   missionary,  and   Henry  J.  Bruce, 

New  mis-  J  '  J 

sionanes.  joined  the  mission,  with  their  wives,  early 
in  1863. 

In  the  summer  of  that  year  Sir  Bartle  Frere, 
official  kind-  Gfover1101'  °f  Bombay,  visited  Ahmednug- 
ness-  g-Ur?  and  on  the  morning  after  his  arrival 

invited  the  missionaries  to  call  on  him.     He  man- 


MISSION   TO    THE  MAI  I R  ATT  AS.  295 

ifested  much  interest  in  their  work  and  in  the  prog- 
ress of  true  knowledge.     The  schools  were  examined 
in  his  presence,  and  he  expressed  much  satisfaction 
with  the  thoroughness  of  the  religious  instruction 
given.    The  singing  of  the  children,  who  had  learned 
many  English  and  native  tunes,  was  also  gratifying, 
and  he  expressed  his  opinion  that  the  missions  in 
India  had  not  paid  sufficient  attention  to  this  ac- 
complishment.     At   the   close,  the    children    sang 
"  God  save  the  Queen  "  in  Mahratta,  all  rising.    The 
Governor  had  already  made  a  generous  donation  to 
the  schools  in  Satara,  in  the  name  of  Lady  Frere, 
and  a  gentleman  of  his  suite  made  a  similar  dona- 
tion  for  the   schools  at  Ahmednuggur.     The  same 
week,  William  F.  Stearns,  Esq.,  an  American  gentle- 
man, came  up  from  Bombay  to  judge' for  himself  as 
to  the  claims  of  the  mission,  and  gave  five  thousand 

rupees. 

On  the  27th  of  January,  1864,  Mrs.  Barker,  after 
having  been  ten  years  in  the  field,  closed  ^^^ 

^..  i  ,<  mi  Mrs.  Barker. 

her  useful  life  at  Pimplas.  "There  was 
noticeable  in  her,"  writes  some  one  in  India  who 
evidently  knew  her,  "the  unusual  combination  of 
an  elevated  poetical  habit  of  mind  with  excellent 
common  sense  and  practical  benevolence,  a  love  of 
the  beautiful,  with  a  hearty  devotedness  to  the  wel- 
fare of  her  fellow  men."  Her  refinement  and  deli- 
cacy of  feeling,  her  cheerfulness,  her  powers  of 
conversation,  and  her  unaffected  piety,  made  her  a 


296  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

valued  member  of  the  mission  circle,  and  gave  assur- 
ance of  a  strong  hold  on  the  native  female  community. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hazen  returned  to  their  missionary 
Death  of  Mr  laoors  i*1  1864,  after  a  temporary  visit  to 
chiipm.  their  native  land,  and  were  accompanied  by 
Rev.  William  W.  Chapin  and  wife.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Chapin  were  stationed  at  Pimplas,  but  in  less  than 
three  months,  after  having  awakened  hopes  of  great 
usefulness,  he  was  cut  down  by  an  attack  of  diph- 
theria. 

The  Rev.  Hari  Ramchander,  better  known  as 
Death  and      Haripunt,    pastor   of    the   first   church   in 

character  of 

Haripunt.  Ahmednuggur,  died  January  11th  of  the 
same  year,  at  the  age  of  about  forty- six.  He  was 
from  a  high  brahmin  family,  and  the  story  of  his 
conversion  and  ordination  has  been  already  told.  In 
the  year  1860,  in  view  of  the  wants  of  the  Satara 
station,  he  removed  thither  with  his  family.  Next 
year  Ramkrishnapunt,  who  had  been  installed  pastor 
of  the  church  in  Bombay,  found  it  necessary  to  re- 
move his  family  back  into  the  Deccan  on  account  of 
the  fatal  influence  of  the  climate  on  his  children. 
This  led  to  a  temporary  exchange  of  places.  Hari- 
punt's  health  failed  in  1863,  and  he  returned  to 
Ahmednuggur,  leaving  his  family  at  Bombay.  At 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  mission  in  October,  he 
spoke  of  God's  great  goodness,  of  his  own  readiness 
to  die,  and  of  his  joy  in  the  prospect  of  meeting  his 
Saviour  in  heaven.     He  officiated  with  Ramkrishna- 


MISSION  TO    THE   MAHRATTAS.  297 

punt  at  the  communion,  and  this  was  his  last  oppor- 
tunity of  uniting-  with  his  brethren  in  commemo- 
rating the  dying-  love  of  the  Redeemer.  He  was 
now  urged  to  return  to  his  family  at  Bombay,  but 
before  doing  this  he  made  a  tour  among  some  vil- 
lages south  of  Ahinednuggur,  where  the  mission 
wished  him  to  labor.  The  exposure  to  cold  had 
such  an  effect  upon  him,  that  he  was  persuaded  to 
return  immediately  to  the  milder  climate  of  Bom- 
bay. During  the  first  night  after  his  arrival,  he 
continued  talking  with  his  family  till  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  when,  feeling  drowsy  and  seeking 
rest,  "  he  fell  asleep,  and  never  waked." 

In  the  year  1865,  when  there  were  more  than 
a   score   of  native   churches,   the    mission   An  Ecciesms- 

tical  Uuion 

deemed  it  expedient  that  they  should  form  formed. 
an  Ecclesiastical  Union.  Fourteen  of  the  twenty- 
three  churches  were  accordingly  so  united,  the 
Union  consisting  of  the  native  pastor  and  a  delegate 
from  each  church.  Missionaries  might  take  part  in 
the  discussions,  but  had  no  vote,  not  being  mem- 
bers of  the  Union.  The  fourth  and  fifth  Articles 
describe  the  nature  of  the  organization. 

"  Art.  4.  It  belongs  to  the  assembly  to  give 
its  opinion  on  questions  brought  before  it  by  the 
churches,  and  references  made  to  it  in  regard  to 
general  principles,  whether  of  doctrines  or  mor- 
als ;  also,  to  examine  and  license  candidates  for  the 
holy  ministry,  and  to  withdraw  license  when  advis- 


298  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

able;  to  ordain,  install,  remove,  and  judge  minis- 
ters connected  with  the  churches  belonging  to  the 
Union;  to  condemn  erroneous  opinions  which  injure 
the  piety  and  peace  of  the  church ;  to  unite  or 
divide  churches  at  the  request  of  the  people,  and  to 
form  and  receive  new  churches,  and  in  general  to 
order  whatever  pertains  to  the  common  interests  of 
the  churches  connected  with  the  Union." 

"Art.  5.  It  does  not  belong  to  the  assembly  to 
hear  and  decide  appeals  from  the  churches  in  regard 
to  the  discipline  of  private  members.  At  the  same 
time  it  may  be  proper  for  a  church  to  apply  to  the 
assembly  for  its  opinion  as  to  the  general  principles 
on  which  they  may  proceed  in  a  case  of  discipline." 

Mr.  Ballantine,  after  thirty  years  of  service  in 
Death  and  ludia,  died  on  the  19th  of  November,  1865, 
MrTaw*  wh51e  °»  his  way  to  the  United  States  with 
his  family  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  and 
his  body  was  consigned  to  the  ocean  off  the  coast 
of  Portugal.  An  intimate  personal  acquaintance 
and  a  prolonged  correspondence,  have  led  me  to 
assign  him  a  high  place  among  missionaries  of  the 
cross.  He  was  an  earnest,  faithful  laborer.  To  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  Mahratta  language  he 
added  an  acquaintance  with  the  Sanskrit,  and  has  left 
his  impress  on  the  version  of  the  Scriptures  in  the 
Mahratta.  Two  hymn-books  in  the  Mahratta  were 
prepared  by  him,  one  for  use  in  the  churches,  the 
other  for  the  children,  containing  together  four  htm- 


MISSION  TO    TITE   M  Ml  II  ATT  AS.  299 

dred  hymns.  They  are  generally  translations  of 
hymns  and  sacred  songs  found  in  the  English  lan- 
guage, and  besides  being  faithfully  rendered,  both 
as  to  spirit  and  thought,  are  said  often  to  possess 
the  full  force  and  beauty  of  the  originals.  In  other 
ways  he  enriched  the  Christian  literature  of  the 
Mahratta  people. 

He  was  an  earnest  preacher,  and  a  strong  advo- 
cate of  the  principle,  that  preaching  the  Gospel  is 
the  first  among  the  means  to  be  employed  for  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen.  This  was  in  accordance 
with  his  main  employment  during  the  last  five  years 
of  his  life  in  connection  with  theological  classes  of 
young  men  preparing  for  the  ministry.  In  the  year 
1854,  I  heard  him  preach  to  a  native  congregation 
at  Khokar,  forty  miles  from  Ahmednuggur,  and  was 
much  impressed  by  the  visible  effect  of  his  easy, 
fluent,  powerful  utterances.  Mrs.  Ballantine  was  a 
help  every  way  meet  for  him,  and  their  necessary 
withdrawal  from  the  field,  with  their  well-trained 
family,  seemed  an  irreparable  loss.1 

1  Since  the  above  was  written,  and  indeed  since  the  close  of  this 
history,  Mrs.  Ballantine  has  been  called  to  her  heavenly  rest.  Her 
death  occurred,  somewhat  suddenly,  at  Amherst,  Mass.,  on  the  8th  of 
May,  1874,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  her  age.  In  her  appropriate 
sphere  of  labor  she  was  every  way  the  equal  of  her  eminent  husband. 
The  author,  when  in  India,  had  much  opportunity  for  observing  her 
in  her  relations  to  her  family  and  to  the  native  community.  It  was 
her  custom  to  have  her  children  up  and  dressed  with  the  rising  sun  to 
accompany  her,  for  air  and  exercise,  to  the  open  fields  beyond  the  city 
walls,  and  this  was  repeated  at  the  close  of  day.     The  tine  health  en- 


300  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

Seven  natives  had  been  licensed  by  the  Evangel- 
Movement  ical  Union,  in  the  year  1866,  as  preachers 
pastorate.  •  of  the  Gospel.  But  the  churches  had  been 
backward  to  settle  them,  preferring  to  have  the  mis- 
sionaries for  their  acting  pastors,  and  to  receive  the 
ordinances  at  their  hands.  This  was  mainly  owing 
to  unwillingness  to  assume  the  native  pastors'  sup- 
port. The  mission  set  itself  to  remedy  the  evil. 
Of  course  the  question  of  support  came  up  for  con- 
sideration, and  the  Union  discussed  the  question, 
whether  every  church  member  ought  not  to  set 
aside  a  tenth  of  his  income  (as  the  minimum)  for 
religious  uses.  Among  the  addresses  on  that  occa- 
sion was  one  by  the  Rev.  Ramkrishnapunt,  or  Pastor 
Modak,  extracts  from  a  translation  of  which  are  well 
deserving*  of  a  place  in  this  history. 

"  How  does  it  happen,"  said  this  intelligent  na- 
tive pastor,  "  that  such  a  question  arises  in  regard 
to  our  churches?  Do  not  our  Christians  provide  for 
their  own  temporal  support;  and  why  do  they  not 
then  provide  also  in  religious  matters  ?  Their  souls 
are  certainly  as  much  their  own  as  their  bodies. 
People  of  other  religions,  and   Christians  of  other 

joyed  by  this  family  shows  what  may  he  possible  in  favoring  circum- 
stances, even  in  India.  Three  of  her  daughters  are  now  wives  of  mis- 
sionaries in  India,  a  son  is  under  appointment  as  a  medical  missionary 
to  India,  and  the  rest  are  all  in  full  sympathy  with  the  work  to  which 
their  honored  parents  had  devoted  their  lives.  Her  labors  in  connec- 
tion with  the  department  of  female  education,  form  a  part  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  mission. 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  301 

lands,  support  their  own  religions  teachers ;  why 
should  not  Christians  here  do  the  same  9  Docs 
Christianity  seem  to  them  of  so  little  value  that 
they  arc  unwilling-  it  should  cost  them  anything? 
Not  so  —  but  there  is  a  proverb  which  says,  '  Who 
will  go  afoot  when  he  has  a  horse  to  ride?  '  And  in 
like  manner,  why  should  we  he  at  any  expense  in  re- 
ligious matters,  when  the  mission  is  ready  to  hear  it 
all  for  us?  This  leads  to  another  question  :  Why 
did  the  mission  at  first  assume  this  expense?  And 
why  have  they  borne  it  till  the  present  time,  instead 
of  calling  upon  us  to  take  it  9  ....  Unfortunately, 
the  result  of  this  course  has  proved  most  disastrous 

for  us We  have  grown  up  from  infancy  to 

maturity,  increasing  from  half  a  dozen  to  as  many 
hundreds,  and  from  one  to  twenty-three  churches. 
The  cost  of  supporting  our  pastors  and  schools  has 
largely  increased,  but  we  seem  to  ourselves  utterly 
unable  to  lift  the  burden  a  finger's  breadth.  Our 
indulgent  mother  (the  mission)  must  still  carry  us 
in  her  arms,  for  she  and  we  both  think  we  cannot 
yet  walk  alone.  Had  we  been  accustomed  from  the 
first  to  give  according  to  our  ability,  the  ability  to 
give  would  have  increased  with  our  growth,  and  to- 
day we  might  have  been  able  to  bear  the  whole  bur- 
den  What   if  this  support  on  which  we  are 

leaning  were  suddenly  withdrawn,  where  would  it 
leave  us?  We  cannot  expect  it  to  be  always  con- 
tinued.    It  behooves  ns  then,  as  wise  men,  at  once 


302  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

to  set  thing's  in  train  for  self-support.  It  is  our  im- 
perative duty. 

"  Granted,  then,  that  we  ought  to  be  self-support- 
ing-, what  means  can  we  use  to  become  so  ?  This  is 
our  question.  The  first  and  chief  means  is  this,  that 
we  now  begin  to  do  what  we  ought  to  have  done  long 
ago.  From  tliis  time  we  must  begin  to  pay  the  cost  of 
our  religious  privileges.  Well  would  it  be  for  us  if  we 
were  as  wise  and  discerning  in  regard  to  our  spirit- 
ual welfare  as  we  are  in  temporal  matters." 

He  goes  on  to  assign  reasons  why  they  should 
support  their  own  Christian  institutions,  and  then 
adds :  — 

"  I  anticipate  here  an  objection,  '  What  you  say 
is  all  true,  but  we  are  not  able  at  once  to  take  up 
this  work.'  And  so  we  have  been  saying  for  a  long 
time.  But  I  believe  if  we  consider  it  well,  we  shall 
not  think  we  cannot  do  it.  If  we  take  hold  in  ear- 
nest, and  make  proper  exertions,  we  can  bear  all  the 

ordinary  expenses  of  our  Christian  institutions 

Did  we  not  buy  those  lifeless,  good-for-nothing  idols, 
build  temples  for  them,  and  pay  for  their  consecra- 
tion and  worship  ?  Did  we  not  provide  the  turmeric, 
frankincense,  flowers,  lamps,  and  meat-offerings  for 
the  ordinary  worship,  and  special  gifts  for  the  festal 
days  of  our  fictitious  household  gods  ?  And  the 
still  heavier  expenses  of  sacrifices,  oblations,  and 
feasts  for  the  numerous  worshippers,  did  we  not 
bear  these  also?     The  bootless  cost  of  long  pilgrim- 


MISSION   TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  303 

ao-es  to  Vithoba,  Khandoba,  Bhowani,  and  the  rest ; 
the  fees  and  ritual  expenses  incurred  at  such  places, 
did  we  not  pay  them  all  ?  And  how  much  did  we 
give  lor  hearing  the  legends,  purans,  kirttans,  and 
other  recitations?  How  much  went  for  needless 
funeral  rites,  lunar  observances,  and  feasts  for  the 
dead  ?  How  much  to  the  fortune-tellers,  and  vari- 
ous orders  of  religious  mendicants  ?  How  much  to 
escape  the  plagues  of  evil  spirits,  unlucky  stars,  and 
other  bad  omens?  How  much  for  weddings,  holy 
days,  and  other  festive  occasions?  For  these  and 
other  objects  called  religious,  we  gave  freely  when 
we  were  heathen  ;  if  we  gave  an  equal  amount  now, 
I  believe  it  would  suffice  for  the  support  of  our  own 
Christian  worship,  and  leave  much  to  be  used  in  giv- 
ing the  Gospel  to  others.  What  we  then  gave  was 
in  the  interest  of  sin  and  hell ;  what  we  now  give  is 
for  our  own  and  others'  spiritual  good,  and  for  the 
glory  of  God.  How  cheerfully  should  we  give  for 
such  objects  !  .  .  .  . 

"  Let  us  then,  dear  brethren,  now,  before  God, 
make  this  strong  resolution,  and  that  we  may  carry 
it  out,  let  us  bind  ourselves  by  some  fixed  rule  of 
ffivinff.  Let  us  resolve  that  we  will  devote  one  tenth 
of  our  income  to  religious  purposes,  —  not  that  we 
should  never  give  more  than  this,  but  that  we  will 
not  give  less  than  this  proportion.  If  any  one 
thinks  this  is  too  much,  let  him  remember  that  God 
Himself  save  this  rule  to  the  Israelites.    If  we  cou- 


804  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

sider  that  we  spend  nine  tenths  for  our  bodies,  which 
in  a  few  days  will  return  to  dust,  and  only  one  tenth 
for  the  soul,  which  is  immortal,  instead  of  appearing1 
a  great  deal,  it  will  seem  but  a  little  —  very  little  in- 
deed." 

The  result  was,  that  all  the  seven  licentiates  re- 
ordination     ceived  calls  to  settle  from  as  many  church- 

of  native  - 

pastors.  es,  and  some  of  them  received  even  two  or 
three.  The  Union,  having  been  requested  by  the 
churches  to  make  arrangements  for  the  ordination 
of  their  pastors  elect,  designated  churches,  which, 
by  their  pastors  and  delegates,  should  visit  the  sev- 
eral churches  for  that  purpose.  Two  or  more  mis- 
sionaries were  present  on  each  occasion.  It  was  un- 
derstood, that  the  ordination  would  be  deferred  in 
cases  where  the  church  did  not  pledge  itself  to  raise 
a  monthly  sum  equal  to  a  tenth  of  the  income  of  its 
members.  Some  of  the  churches  required  consider- 
able time  for  considering  this  question  ;  but  at 
length  the  male  members  of  each  promised  to  give 
that  proportion  of  their  incomes  for  the  support  c-f 
their  pastors. 

At  the  ordinations,  the  sermon,  the  charge  to  the 
pastor,  and  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  were  by 
native  pastors  ;  and  the  ordaining  prayer,  and  the 
charge  to  the  people,  were  by  missionaries.  The 
audiences  were  crowded  and  attentive.  Following 
the  ordinations  were  protracted  meetings,  com- 
mencing  on    Tuesday,  and  closing  with    the  coin- 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  305 

amnion  service  on  the  Sabbath.  One  of  the  older 
missionaries,  in  view  of  these  scenes,  thus  gave  ut- 
terance to  his  feelings:  "I  confess  I  have  received 
new  ideas  of  the  strength  of  our  native  Christians. 
There  is  a  power  here,  which  is  being  developed  and 
organized  for  active  effort,  and  which  I  believe  God 
is  about  to  use  for  His  glory." 

On    the    11th    of  February,  1867,  Mrs.  Harding 
died  suddenly  at  Solapur,  ten   years  after  Death  of 

Afrs<  liar- 

her  arrival  in  India,  leaving  four  children,  ding. 
Though  she  had  left  a  home  of  many  comforts  in 
America,  she  lived  contented  and  happy  in  India, 
and  became  continually  more  interested  in  the  good 
work  of  the  Lord.  Mr.  William  Henry  Atkinson 
and  wife,  afterwards  laborers  at  this  station,  arrived 
near  the  close  of  the  year. 

Mr.  Munger's  last  residence  was  at  Bombay,  and 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  mission  for  1868  n  f.    . ., 

»  Death  of  Mr. 

was  appointed  in  that  place,  to  enjoy  the  Muuger- 
benefit  of  his  counsels  and  prayers.  Before  the 
time  of  the  meeting,  he  was  taken  ill  with  fever, 
and  a  partial  paralysis  ensued.  When  his  brethren 
arrived,  he  was  scarcely  able  to  recognize  them,  and 
died  on  the  23d  of  July,  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.  He 
was  the  oldest  member  of  the  mission,  having  gone 
to  India  in  the  year  1834,  and  was  to  have  preached 
the  annual  sermon.  He  was  somewhat  ungainly  in 
appearance,  and  rough  in  manner,  but  with  tender 
Christian    sensibilities.     His   iron   constitution  was 

20 


306  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA 

broken  by  travel  and  exposure  in  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel. While  at  Jalna,  his  labors  were  blessed  to  some 
of  the  English  army  officers  stationed  there.  One 
of  these  came  to  Ahmednuggur  while  the  Deputa- 
tion was  there,  on  his  way  to  England,  and  it  was 
affecting*  to  see  this  officer  of  rank  and  culture 
throw  his  arms  around  the  neck  of  the  good  mis- 
sionary, and  kiss  him,  in  token  of  love  and  gratitude 
for  spiritual  benefits  formerly  received.  To  the  end 
he  was  a  faithful  servant  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MISSION   TO   THE   MAHRATTAS. 

1868-1873. 

In  1868,  a  brahmin  of  Solapiir  had  been  admitted 
to  the  church  in  that  place,  and  a  younger 

*•  .  Persecution. 

brother  had  decided  to  embrace  Christian- 
ity. An  elder  brother,  learning  the  fact,  came  with 
other  influential  brahmins  to  the  mission  chapel, 
where  the  brothers  then  were,  and  used  every  pos- 
sible means  to  induce  them  to  leave.  Violence 
was  apprehended,  as  a  large  mob  had  gathered  about 
the  house,  and  the  Christians  sent  for  Mr.  Harding. 
Alter  saying  a  few  words  to  the  crowd,  he  wrote  to 
the  Collector,  asking  protection  for  the  young  men. 
Unfortunately  the  Collector  was  absent,  and  there 
was  considerable  delay  before  the  letter  reached  the 
second  magistrate.  Meanwhile  three  native  Chris- 
tians on  the  outside  of  the  chapel  were  cruelly 
beaten  by  brahmins  and  others.  The  doors  were 
broken  open  and  the  two  young  converts  carried 
away.  The  magistrate  lost  no  time  in  ordering  the 
arrest  of  the  leaders,  and  the  liberation  of  the  con- 
verts. Bamchandra,  the  older,  was  set  at  liberty 
and  came  at  once  to  the  mission  house. 


308  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

The  Christians  who  had  been  waiting  in  anxious 
suspense  came  to  rejoice  with  him.  The  three  were 
present  who  had  been  so  cruelly  beaten,  faint  from 
loss  of  blood,  and  their  clothes  crimsoned  from  head 
to  foot,  yet  there  were  no  complaints.  One  sug- 
gested that  these  sufferings  were  light  compared 
with  those  which  Christ  endured.  Auother  re- 
marked :  "  Yes,  and  we  are  ready,  if  need  be,  to 
give  up  our  lives  for  His  sake." 

Three  prominent  brahmin  leaders  in  this  outbreak 
were  tried,  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  six  months' 
imprisonment  with  hard  labor.  After  that  the 
Christians  had  peace,  and  the  fact  that  a  man  of  the 
highest  caste  in  the  community  had  given  up  his 
caste  and  religion  and  become  a  Christiau,  naturally 
led  to  inquiry  and  discussion  among  the  people. 

The  conduct  of  Ramchandra  was  very  satisfactory. 
The  firmness  of  the  younger  brother  yielded  for  a 
time  to  the  pressure,  but  he  soon  came  again  and 
applied  for  baptism.  It  was  thought  best,  however, 
on  his  own  account,  and  for  the  effect  on  the  com- 
munity, not  to  baptize  him  immediately. 

Messrs.  Spencer  R.  Wells,  Charles  W.  Park,  and 
.  .       Richard  Winsor,   and   their  wives,  joined 

New  mission-  '  '    J 

anes"  the  mission,  the  first  in  1869,  the  second 

in  1870,  and  the  third  in  1871.  Failure  of  health 
obliged  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dean  to  return  home  in  1867. 
Miss  Harriet  S.  Ashley  from  Milan,  Ohio,  became 
connected  with  the  mission  in  December,  1871. 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAIIRATTAS.  309 

*  Mr.  Bruce  reported  twenty-nine  native  helpers  in 
the  year  1867,  within  the  three  districts  Nativela_ 
of  Rahuri,  Khokar,  and  Pimplas,  and  that  borer3 
each  of  these  helpers  had  a  number  of  villages 
assigned  him  to  visit  as  often  as  possible  for  the 
purpose  of  preaching.  According  to  their  monthly 
reports,  they  preached  7,362  times  during  the  year, 
to  audiences  amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  1)6,373 
persons,  of  whom  16,363  were  women.  The  average 
audience  was  about  twelve. 

The  employment  of  native  "  Bible-women  "  to  go 
out  wherever  they  could  collect  a  small  BibIe 
company  of  women  and  read  and  talk  to  women- 
them  of  Bible  truth,  commenced  about  this  time. 
They  gained  easy  access  to  many  of  their  own  sex, 
from  whom  the  catechist  was  shut  out  by  the  cus- 
toms of  oriental  society,  read  portions  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, especially  the  narratives  and  parables  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  always  talked  about  what  they 
read.  For  some  years  two  Bible-women  were  sup- 
ported in  and  near  Ahmednuggur  by  the  Zenana 
Society  of  London.  For  two  years  an  unknown 
friend  in  Bombay  supported  one  at  Newase.  At 
length  the  Woman's  Board  of  Missions  in  Boston 
arranged  for  the  employment  of  Bible-women  under 
the  care  of  the  mission,  and  they  are  doing  much 
to  spread  Gospel  truth  among  the  people.  The  na- 
tive Christian  women  in  Bombay  were  accustomed 
to  hold  a  weekly  meeting  by  themselves,  for  prayer 


310  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

and  religious  instruction,  and  great  interest  was 
often  added  to  these  meeting's  by  the  accounts  of 
their  work  given  by  the  Bible- women. 

Six  of  these  were  employed  under  Mrs.  Bissell 
in  the  villages  near  Ahmednuggur.  Only  one  was 
young,  and  she  had  been  educated  in  mission  schools. 
Three  were  widows,  whose  husbands  had  been  pillars 
in  the  churches,  and  were  respected  even  among  the 
heathen.  They  and  other  Christian  women  met  for 
prayer  every  Thursday,  and  once  a  month  they  re- 
ported their  labors  at  these  meetings.  They  gen- 
erally went  two  and  two,  but  sometimes  all  went 
together  to  one  village,  to  reach  as  many  as  possible 
of  all  classes.  Each  pair  was  expected  to  keep  a 
written  journal  showing  the  places  visited,  the  num- 
ber present,  the  portions  of  Scripture  or  tracts  read, 
and  the  principal  subject  discussed. 

Mrs.  Bissell  was  accustomed  to  visit  some  of  the 
Efforts  of  women  of  the  higher  castes.  By  the 
help  of  Ramkrishnapunt,  the  pastor,  who 
was  acquainted  with  the  native  gentlemen,  she  went 
by  invitation  from  the  master  of  the  house,  and  at 
an  appointed  time,  thus  avoiding  all  complaint  of 
intrusion,  and  giving  opportunity  for  the  women 
of  the  house  to  call  in  some  of  their  friends  and 
neighbors,  which  they  almost  always  did.  The  wife 
of  the  pastor  or  one  of  the  Bible-women  accom- 
panied her  in  these  visits.  The  master  of  the  house 
generally  kept  out  of  sight,  but  not  always.     "  On 


MISSION   TO    THE   MAHRATTAS.  -Ill 

calling  a  second  time  at  one  place,"  writes  Mr,  Bis- 
sell,  "the  master  of  the  house  came  forward,  and 
expressing-  gratitude  for  the  call,  said  he  knew  the 
women  of  this  country  were  kept  in  an  ignorant,  de- 
based condition,  but  he  was  willing  to  have  Mrs.  B. 
speak  to  the  women  of  his  house  on  any  subject  she 
chose,  and  was  sure  she  would  say  nothing  but  what 
was  for  their  good.  His  wife  and  the  other  women 
(eight  in  all)  showed  great  pleasure  in  seeing  her 
again.  The  wife  had  explained  to  a  stranger  the 
substance  of  what  had  been  said  on  a  previous  visit, 
adding,  '  They  come  to  talk  to  us  about  such  things.' 

"  After  that,  they  conversed  about  the  character 
of  the  true  God ;  how  sin  entered  the  world,  man's 
moral  weakness  and  need  of  divine  aid,  and  similar 
themes.  The  women  admitted  the  truth  of  what 
was  told  them,  but  said  they  were  afraid  of  their 
gods,  and  knew  not  how  to  get  rid  of  them.  This 
is  probably  true.  Though  they  have  no  love  for 
their  g'ods,  they  think  they  are  real  beings,  and  will 
torment  them  in  some  way  if  they  cease  to  honor 
them.  When  Mrs.  Bissell  and  her  companion  were 
leaving,  the  wife  took  Mrs.  B.'s  hand  in  both  hers 
and  said,  '  We  shall  count  the  Saturdays  till  you 
come.'  " 

An  invitation  came  one  day  from  the  wife  of  a 
parabhu,  a  caste  next  to  the  brahmin,  wrho  had 
called  together  ten  of  her  relatives  and  near  friends. 
She    said    she   had   been  a  pupil  of  Miss    Farrar's 


312  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

school  in  Bomba}r,  some  thirty  years  before,  and 
that  she  remembered  her  name,  and  looks,  and  how 
she  used  to  talk  with  her.  She  had  kept  up  her 
knowledge  of  reading,  and  taught  her  two  little 
daughters-in-law  to  read  also.1 

Another  incident  shows  the  influence  of  Miss 
Farrar's  teaching,  as  related  by  a  Christian  woman 
at  one  of  their  meetings.  A  sick  Hindu  woman 
sent  for  her,  and  said  that  when  a  girl  she  attended 
Miss  Farrar's  school,  and  believed  what  she  had 
been  taught  about  Christ.  She  had  since  been  a 
great  sinner,  but  had  given  up  her  evil  ways,  aud 
sought  forgiveness,  aud  she  wished  her  to  pray  for 
her.  This  she  did,  and  afterwards  went  to  her  sev- 
eral times  for  the  same  purpose.  At  last  the  sick 
woman  sent  for  her  one  night,  told  her  that  her 
end  was  near,  and  said,  "  Pray  with  me  once  more. 
Do  you  think  I  shall  be  received  ?  I  trust  in  Him 
alone."  After  prayer,  she  passed  away,  while  her 
Christian  friend  was  sitting  beside  her. 

One  of  the  obstacles  to  the  prevalence  of  the 
Gospel  in  India,  is  the  custom  forbidding  the  mar- 
riage of  widows.  The  marriage  of  a  brahmin 
widow  at  Bombay,  which  took  place  openly  in  1869, 
with  quite  a  flourish  of  trumpets,  created  much  ex- 
citement.    Many  high  caste  young  men  of  the  so- 

1  Daughters  are  usually  taken  from  their  mothers,  at  ten  or  eleven 
years  of  age,  to  the  homes  of  their  husbands,  while  the  sons  bring 
their  young  wives  to  live  with  their  mothers. 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  ol3 

called  "  Reformers  "  pledged  themselves  to  stand  by 
the  bridegroom,  even  should  he  be  deprived  of  caste. 
They  were  so  many,  that  they  dared  the  orthodox 
Hindus  to  touch  them  ;  and  though  threatened,  they 
carried  their  point. 

Writing  from  Khokar,  in  1869,  Mr.  Bruce,  of 
the  Rahuri  station,  contrasts  the  recep-  Eviaencegof 
tion  he  met  at  that  time,  with  that  ex-  progI 
tended  to  a  missionary  twelve  years  before,  when 
Khokar  was  one  of  the  centres  of  idolatry.  The 
missionary  was  then  met  with  all  manner  of  opposi- 
tion, except  positive  violence,  which  they  dared  not 
inflict.  Mr.  Bruce  thus  describes  the  changed  con- 
dition :  — 

"  The  opposition  of  the  patil  (as  of  others)  has 
gradually  worn  away,  and  no  one  would  suppose, 
from  his  hearty  greeting  of  me  the  other  night,  that 
he  was  the  same  man  who,  years  ago,  tried  to  drive 
the  missionaries  away.  '  It  has  been  a  long  time 
since  you  came,'  said  he ;  and  the  tone  of  his  voice 
was  intended  to  indicate  a  wish  that  we  would  come 
oftener.  We  were  talking  about  a  new  chowdi  (rest- 
house)  and  government  school-house  that  had  re- 
cently been  built,  when  he,  of  his  own  accord,  said 
that  he  was  ready  to  give  a  piece  of  land  on  which 
to  build  a  chapel.  I  went  with  him  to  see  the  place, 
and  found  it  as  desirable  a  site  as  I  could  have 
chosen  myself.  The  patil  and  villagers  are  not  only 
ready  to  give  this  site,  but  are  urging  the  early  erec- 
tion of  the  building. 


314  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

"  On  Thursday  evening,  Pastor  Kassanbhai,  of 
Ehokar,  gave  his  kirttan,  by  invitation  of  the  vil- 
lagers. The  new  chowdi  was  given  for  the  purpose, 
and  was  crowded  with  attentive  listeners.  A  hun- 
dred or  more  were  obliged  to  sit  upon  the  ground 
outside.  The  patil  afterwards  expressed  the  great- 
est satisfaction  with  the  kirttan,  and  said,  '  All  the 
people,  even  the  brahmins,  were  pleased  with  it.' ' 

In  November,  Mr.  Hazen  was  employed  for  a 
time  in  the  Bombay  University,  as  one  of 

A  new  re-  *  .      *  ' 

Bponsibiiity.  j.jie  examjners  in  the  Mahratta  language. 
About  three  hundred  of  the  young  men  were  seated 
indiscriminately,  in  a  large  hall,  and  over  five  hun- 
dred more  were  under  a  large  awning,  each  with  his 
little  table  before  him.  There  were  brahmins,  Hin- 
dus of  various  classes  and  languages,  Parsees,  Sind- 
hees,  Beluchees,  Jews,  Mohammedans,  Portuguese, 
and  a  few  English  youth,  representing  about  a 
dozen  different  languages.  Five  missionaries  were 
among  the  examiners.  Mr.  Hazen  and  his  native 
colleague  had  to  examine  one  hundred  and  eighty 
persons,  or  half  of  these  who  were  to  be  examined 
in  Mahratta. 

The  two  churches  at  Ahmednuggur  were  united 
in  1871,  under  the  pastorate  of  Ramkrishnapunt, 
who  was  earnest  in  leading  his  people  to  a  high 
standard  of  Christian  character.  His  views,  ably 
stated,  as  to  the  support  of  the  ministry,  have  been 
already  placed  before  the  reader. 


MISSION   TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  315 

In  1871,  the  native  pastors  and  others  at  Bom- 
bay, conceived  the  idea  of  forming  a  na-  a  native 

Christian 

tive  Christian  Alliance,  embracing-  repre-  alliance. 
sentatives  from  all  the  missions.  Their  object  was 
to  show  the  union  actually  subsisting  betweeu  Chris- 
tians, to  strengthen  that  union,  and  consult  to- 
gether in  regard  to  their  Christian  duties.  As 
many  as  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons  came  to- 
gether, most  of  them  representative  men.  Of  six- 
teen native  pastors  present,  eleven  were  from  the 
American  mission.  Two  long  business  meetings 
were  held  each  day  for  four  days,  and  several  for 
social  intercourse,  in  one  of  which  a  large  number 
of  European  gentlemen  and  ladies  participated. 
One  evening  was  devoted  to  the  musical  perform- 
ance called  "  kirttan,"  by  some  of  the  brethren  from 
Ahmednuggur,  which  excited  much  interest  among 
Hindus,  as  well  as  Christians. 

Mr.  Harding,  who  communicates  these  facts,  says, 
there  were  earnest  discussions  upon  a  variety  of 
important  subjects;  such  as,  The  appreciation  of 
Christian  privileges,  Care  of  children  of  native 
Christians,  Giving  systematically,  and  Our  duties 
to  our  country.  The  discussions  upon  this  last  sub- 
ject ended  in  a  resolution  to  establish  a  new  mission 
by  the  Alliance  ;  and  four  hundred  and  fifty  rupees 
were  subscribed  for  the  expenses  of  the  first  year. 
Rutuagherry,  a  city  on  the  coast,  two  hundred  miles 
south  of  Bombay,  was  the  place  chosen  for  the  sta- 


316  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

tion.  Not  finding'  the  proper  agent,  this  plan  was 
not  carried  out.  An  address  by  one  of  the  village 
pastors  from  the  Ahmednuggur  district,  who  had 
never  before  been  in  Bombay,  moved  some  of  the 
audience  to  tears.  A  resolution  of  thanks  to  the 
missionaries  and  missionary  societies  was  moved  by 
the  Rev.  Narayan  Sheshadri,  well  known  to  those 
who  attended  the  meeting  of  the  Evangelical  Alli- 
ance at  New  York  in  1873,  seconded  by  Mr.  Shahu 
Daji,  and  unanimously  agreed  to. 

Special  interest  was  awakened  at  Ahmednuggur 
Labors  of  an  iu  1871>  by  the  Rev-  William  Taylor,  an 
Evangelist.  Evangelist  from  America  connected  with 
the  Methodist  denomination,  who  had  been  preach- 
ing for  a  year  at  various  places  in  Northern  India. 
His  manner  is  represented  as  clear,  forcible,  and 
direct;  and  though  he  spoke  through  an  inter- 
preter, his  thoughts  were  so  truthfully  rendered 
into  the  Mahratta  by  Pastor  Modak,  that  they 
seemed  to  lose  none  of  their  power.  "  The  Holy 
Spirit,"  writes  Dr.  Bissell,"  was  manifestly  present. 
Missionaries,  native  Christians,  and  also  Hindus 
showed,  by  their  fixed  and  often  tearful  attention, 
the  power  of  God's  truth  over  their  hearts."  Dur- 
ing the  last  week,  two  meetings  were  held  each  day. 
Sometimes  as  many  as  a  dozen  remained  after  the 
congregation  was  dismissed,  for  religious  conversa- 
tion. The  converts  were  chiefly  from  Christian  fam- 
ilies, or  had  been  for  years  acquainted  with  Chris- 


MISSION  TO   THE  MAHRATTAS.  817 

tian  truth.  Eleven  new  members  were  added  to 
the  church.  Mr.  Taylor  went  from  thence  to  Bom- 
bay, at  the  close  of  the  year,  and  began  a  series  of 
meetings  in  the  mission  chapel.  "  For  more  than  a 
month  past,"  writes  Mr.  Harding  in  January, 
"  meetings  among-  the  Europeans  and  Indo-Britons 
have  been  held,  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Win. 
Taylor,  the  Evangelist,  and  we  see  now  indications 
of  a  powerful  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  We  hear 
every  day  of  new  cases  of  conversion,  —  seven  or 
eight  yesterday,  four  or  five  the  previous  day,  and 
not  long  ago  as  many  as  twelve  in  one  day.  The 
period  of  conviction  is  generally  short,  and  nearly 
all  who  are  awakened  are  hopefully  converted.  Prob- 
ably from  sixty  to  eighty  persons  have  been  brought 
to  Christ  within  the  last  six  weeks,  and  the  interest 
increases  every  day.  As  the  work  advances  we  ex- 
pect the  native  community  will  be  reached,  though 
to  what  extent  we  cannot  tell.  In  connection  with 
our  native  church,  six  or  seven  persons  seem  to 
have  been  converted,  though,  with  one  exception, 
their  experience  has  not  been  of  the  clear,  decided 
character  that  we  see  among  the  Europeans ;  and 
this  exception  is  in  the  case  of  a  boy  baptized  in  in- 
fancy, the  son  of  uative  Christians." 

Pastor  Mahamadji,  of  Seroor,  reported    the  nu- 
merous Mussulmans,  in  that  city  as  at  first  ThcMussul. 
determined  not  to  listen  to  his  preaching,  mans' 
because  he  had  left  the  Mohammedan  religion.    But 


318  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

he  was  glad  to  say,  that  their  opposition  had  gradu- 
ally diminished.  He  had  been  able,  by  means  of 
the  hirttan,  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  all  classes  of  the 
people,  and  in  large  numbers.  This  he  had  done 
about  forty  times  during  the  year,  and  on  all  these 
occasions  there  had  been  attentive  audiences  of  both 
sexes,  varying  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  one 
thousand. 

Miss  Sarah  F.  Norris,  M.  D.,  sailed  from  New 
York  in  the  autumn  of  1873,  to  be  stationed  at 
Bombay,  where  she  has  the  promise  of  a  fine  open- 
ing. 

There  was  much  touring  in  1872  and  1873. 
Messrs.  Bissell,  Fairbank,  Harding,  Wells,  Acoessionsto 
Atkinson,  Park,  and  Winsor  each  made  thechurch 
favorable  reports.  Seventy-six  persons  were  received 
into  the  church  in  1872  —  a  larger  number  than  in 
any  previous  year  since  1861,  —  and  sixteen  more 
in  the  first  three  months  of  1873.  Pastor  Modak, 
of  Ahmednnggur,  reports ;  "  The  regular  preach- 
ing services  on  the  Sabbath  and  other  days  of  the 
week,  have  been  attended  by  more  outsiders  than 
ever  before.  Even  at  the  special  meetings  of  the 
church  for  prayer,  many  have  been  present,  and 
listened  attentively." 

Mr.  Park  gives  an  interesting  accouut  of  the 
hopeful  conversion  of  a  former  "  gosavi,"  or  relig- 
ious teacher,  about  forty  miles  from  Solapur,  his 
subsequent  faithful  efforts  for  the  conversion  of  oth- 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATl'AS.  319 

ers,  and  the  baptism  of  several  members  of  his  fam- 
ily, and  others  who  had  been  his  followers.  Through 
his  efforts  and  influence,  over  fifty  persons,  in  differ- 
ent villages,  were  said  to  be  inquiring. 

The  church  at  Solapur  received  its  native  pastor 
at  the  opening  of  the  year  1874,  and  First  seif- 
started  as  the  first  self-supporting  church  church. 
in  the  Bombay  Presidency ;  the  native  church  all 
agreeing  to  pay  a  tithe  of  their  income,  which 
made  up  the  salary.  The  ordination  sermon  was 
preached  by  Rev.  R.  V.  Modak  (Ramkrishnapunt), 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Ahmednnggur,  with  whom 
and  with  Dr.  Bissell  he  had  studied. 

"  Last  year,"  says  the  Ahmednnggur  pastor,  "  I 
received  to  my  church  thirty-seven  souls,    , 

*  J  'A  native  pas- 

which  was  more  than  I  ever  received  in  tor 
one  year  before*"  "  Our  Sabbath  school,"  he  adds, 
"includes  not  only  children,  as  in  Christian  lands; 
it  is  composed  of  the  whole  church,  —  young  and 
old,  men  and  women.  We  have  some  fifteen  teach- 
ers. I  hold  a  meeting  for  these  teachers  every 
Thursday  evening,  when  I  explain  to  them  the  les- 
son for  the  next  Sunday.  I  have  a  prayer-meeting 
for  the  church  on  every  Friday,  a  preaching  service 
for  the  heathen  every  Wednesday  night  and  Sunday 
night,  besides  the  Sabbath-school,  and  a  service  for 
the  Christians.  I  meet  my  inquirers'  class  every 
Monday  afternoon.     So  I  have  in  all  seven  exercises 


320  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

every  week,  out  of  which  the  resident  missionary 
takes  one  only  when  here,  and  I  take  the  rest. 
Then,  visiting-  Christian  families,  receiving'  visits 
from  heathen  friends,  and  trying  to  give  them  hints 
on  religion,  and  returning  their  visits,  keeping  the 
records  of  the  church,  necessary  correspondence, 
and  the  like,  keep  my  hands  always  so  employed 
that  I  have  very  little  time  for  anything  else."  l 
The  mission  reported,  .in  1873,  twenty-four  na- 
tive preachers,  of  whom  fourteen  were  pas- 

A  summary. 

tors  in  the  twenty-two  churches,  supported 
in  part  hy  their  people.  The  church  members  were 
seven  hundred  and  seven,  of  whom  three  hundred 
and  sixty-nine  were  men,  and  three  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  women.  There  were  thirty-two  male 
and  five  female  teachers.  The  number  of  villages 
in  which  Christians  resided,  was  one  hundred  and 
nineteen.  The  number  of  children  baptized  from  the 
beginning',  was  six  hundred  and  forty-three,  twelve 
of  them  in  the  year  1873.  The  number  of  schools 
was  twenty-nine,  and  of  pupils  five  hundred  and 
eighty-eight,  of  whom  two  hundred  and  twenty-one 
were  baptized  children.  The  native  Bible  readers 
were  twenty-one,  and  Bible  women  thirteen.  The 
amount  of  contributions  for  a  year  was  2,094  rupees, 
or  $1,047. 

The  years  1872  and  1873  were  noted  for  an  inroad 
upon  the  central  regions  of  this  mission  by  the  So- 
1  Missionary  Herald,  1874,  p.  11!). 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  321 

eiety   for   the    Propagation   of   the    Gospel,    acting 
through   the  Bishop  of  Bombay,  in  utter  Gr„ltbrpach 
disregard  of  the  commonly  recognized  prin- 
ciples of  missionary  comity.    A  missionary  of  that  So- 
ciety was  placed  in  Ahmednuggur,  and  native  agents 
in  adjacent  villages,  sometimes  where  the  American 
mission  had  had  a  church  and  teacher  for  years,  and 
with  salaries  larger  than  that  mission  had  deemed 
it  wise  to  give.     On  a  recent  visit  to  Ahmednuggur, 
the  Bishop   received   persons   to   confirmation    and 
communion,  who  were  under  excommunication  from 
the  mission  churches.     On  a  journey  of  a  hundred 
miles  in  the   Ahmuduuggur  districts,  he  reported 
seventy-seven  persons  confirmed  by  him,   some  of 
whom  were   members  of  churches   planted  by  the 
American    missions,   others   were    excommunicated 
persons,  and  a  large  part  of  the  rest  resided  in  vil- 
lages long  occupied  as  out-stations.     Native  Chris- 
tians described  them  as  "pulled  up  and  harvested 
in  a  green  and  unripe  state."     In  the  district  thus 
invaded  the  American  mission  had  nine  native  pas- 
tors, fourteen  Bible-readers  and  preachers,  five  Bible- 
women,  and  eighteen  school  teachers. 

Some  account  should  be  given  of  the  visit  of  Rev. 
J.  H.  Seelve,  D.  D.,  Professor  in  the  Am-  visit  and 

labors  of  Dr. 

herst  College,  to  this  mission  in  1872.     It  seeiye. 
becoming  known  that  he  was  expecting  to  visit  dif- 
ferent mission   fields   in   Japan,   China,   India,   and 
Turkey,  in  a  journey  round  the  world,  the  brethren 


322  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

at  Bombay  sent  au  earnest  invitation  to  him  to 
spend  two  or  three  months  in  that  city  and  vicinity, 
addressing-  educated  natives  in  the  English  lan- 
guage, and  the  Prudential  Committee  seconded  the 
request.  After  brief  visits  in  Japan  and  China,  Dr. 
Seelye  came  to  Calcutta,  where,  at  the  request  of 
the  Scotch  missionaries,  he  lectured  to  the  English- 
speaking  Hindus.  Then,  taking  the  railway,  he 
visited  Benares,  Allahabad,  Agra,  and  Delhi.  His 
arrival  at  Bombay  near  the  last  of  November,  1872, 
was  opportune.  A  Calcutta  Baboo,  a  Brahmo  mis- 
sionary, had  just  completed  a  course  of  lectures  in 
the  English  language  in  favor  of  Brahmoism,  in  the 
last  of  which  he  had  violently  assailed  Christianity. 
This,  and  his  claim  that  he  had  not  been  answered, 
gave  to  Dr.  Seelye  a  fair  introduction  to  the  Eng- 
lish-speaking' natives  of  Bombay. 

The  lectures  were  attended  by  about  three  hun- 
dred Hindus,  and  were  requested  by  them  for  publi- 
cation. They  had  not  been  previously  written,  but 
four  of  them,  written  out  for  the  press  by  the  author 
in  India,  were  published  at  Bombay,  and  have  been 
republished  in  Boston.  Besides  public  lectures,  Dr. 
Seelye  had  many  opportunities  of  meeting  com- 
panies of  natives  at  private  houses  for  conversation 
and  discussion,  some  of  which  were  iutensely  inter- 
esting. 

While  at  Ahmednuggur,  he  delivered  two  lectures, 
by  request,  to  large  audiences,  almost  wholly  native, 


MISSION  TO    THE  MAHRATTAS.  823 

and  but  few  of  thorn  Christian.  On  the  Sabbath  he 
preached,  through  an  interpreter,  to  the  largest 
native  audience  he  had  seen  in  any  mission  church. 
They  were  generally  Christians,  and  the  preacher 
felt  amply  paid  for  his  journey  from  Bombay. 

Dr.  Seelye  received,  while  at  Ahmcdnuggur,  an 
invitation  to  lecture  at  Po#na,  the  old  capital  of  the 
Deccan,  one  of  the  centres  of  brahminical  power, 
and  his  experience  there  was  remarkable.  Poona  is 
a  large  military  post,  one  of  the  Governor's  resi- 
dences, and  has  two  colleges  and -a  number  of  prom- 
inent schools.  The  lecture  was  delivered  in  the 
great  court  of  the  old  palace  of  the  Peshwa,  under 
the  open  sky.  The  number  of  brahmins  present 
was  estimated  at  from  six  to  eight  hundred.  At  the 
close  of  the  lecture,  a  brahmin  requested  Dr.  Seelye 
to  remain  and  give  a  second  lecture,  on  the  next 
evening,  affirming  that  such  was  the  wish  of  the 
audience.  The  lecturer  shall  give  his  own  account 
of  his  experience  on  this  occasion. 

"  The  crowd  last  night  was,  if  possible,  greater 
than  the  night  before.  They  packed  the  court  and 
filled  the  balconies,  leaving  little  more  than  the  bare 
space  for  my  stand,  while  a  number  of  peering  faces 
gathered  about  the  door.  It  was  an  engaging  sight, 
—  the  bright  eyes  and  inquisitive  looks  of  something 
like  a  thousand  brahmins,  crowded  thick  before,  be- 
hind, and  on  either  side  of  me,  in  this  court  of  the 
old   'palace   of  peace,'  as   its   name    implies  —  but 


324  MISSIONS  TO.  INDIA. 

where  so  many  plotting^  of  war  have  been  seen  — 
numberless  candles  lighting  it  up,  and  the  stars 
looking  down  from  the  open  heavens  above.  I  shall 
not  forget  it.  I  thought  at  first  that  such  a  spot 
would  be  a  difficult  place  in  which  to  speak,  but  it 
was  not  at  all  so.  Though  open  above,  it  was  in- 
closed on  the  four  sides,  «and  I  think  I  spoke  with 
even  more  ease  than  usual.  I  certainly  never  had  a 
more  attentive  audience.  These  people,  perhaps 
from  their  Oriental  politeness,  know  how  to  con- 
stitute a  very  well-behaved  assembly.  I  spoke  ex- 
actly an  hour,  as  I  did  the  night  before.  I  leave 
to-day  for  Bombay.  A  week  ago  I  had  no  thought 
of  stopping  here,  and  I  dreaded  the  journey  to 
Ahmednuggur,  but  both  have  been  exceedingly  in- 
teresting experiences,  for  which  I  am  grateful.  The 
Deccan  College,  and  several  schools  of  note  located 
here,  I  visited  yesterday,  under  the  escort  of  Colonel 
Johnson." 

Mr.  Park,  writing  next  year  says,  that  on  a  recent 
other  Eng-     visit  to  Ahuieduggur,  he  was  requested  by 

lish  lectur-  ._  .  , 

ing-  the  English-speaking  natives  to  give  them 

a  lecture  in  English,  and  they  assembled  to  hear 
it  at  the  mission  church,  which  had  lately  been 
enlarged.  "  I  have  seldom  had  a  better  audience 
of  brahmins,"  he  says,  "  than  assembled  on  that  oc- 
casion. I  gave  a  lecture  which,  before  any  other 
audience,  would  have  been  called  a  sermon,  and  it 
was  well  received." 


MISSION  TO   THE  Ar.l/fRATTAS.  325 

When  we  consider  the  high  intelligence  of  the 
missionaries  of  different  societies  —  English,  Scotch, 
iheeeti-  and  American  —  who  have  labored  among 
nsuit.  the  Mahrattas,  and  the  confident  opinions 

they  have  so  often  expressed  on  the  subject,  we  can- 
not doubt,  that  their  labors  have  exerted  a  great  and 
beneficial  influence.  They  have  not  been  toiling 
merely  for  results  that  loomed  up  in  the  future ; 
they  see  them  in  the  past  and  the  present. 

Mr.  Harding*  thinks  that  the  small  apparent  suc- 
cess of  the  mission  in  Bombay  is  owing,  (1.)  To  the 
influence  of  social  life  and  the  intensified  torn?  of 
every  evil  in  such  a  city.  (2.)  To  influences  tending 
to  divert  missionaries  from  direct  and  persistent 
evangelical  work.  (3.)  To  the  short  term  of  mis- 
sionary service,  aud  the  frequent  changes.  (-1.)  To 
the  fact  that  the  centre  of  our  missionary  opera- 
tions was  long  in  the  interior,  so  that  the  work  in 
Bombay  failed  in  the  concentration  required  to  in- 
tensify it  to  such  a  degree  as  might  be  expected  to 
produce  extensive  and  permanent  results.  (5.)  To 
this  fact,  also,  that  four  other  Missionary  Societies 
have  pursued  a  somewhat  different  policy,  especially 
in  their  educational  establishments. 

Yet  the  Board  has  very  important  facilities  for 
laboring  in  Bombay,  having  a  valuable  dwelling- 
house  adapted  to  two  families,  centrally  situated,  and 
a  commodious  house  of  worship  in  an  excellent  loca- 
tion.    It  has  also  the  right  granted  by  government 


326  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

to  occupy  several  lots  in  different  parts  of  the  city, 
for  the  residence  of  mission  families,  for  native  free 
schools,  and  other  missionary  purposes.  It  was  the 
first  missionary  station  in  what  is  now  the  greatest 
city  of  India,  and  has  sowed  much  good  seed  there, 
which  needs  only  appropriate  culture  and  the  bless- 
ing of  God  to  yield  a  harvest.  Prosecuting  the 
mission  with  the  single  object  of  raising  up  effective 
native  churches  and  an  appropriate  native  ministry, 
there  will  be  no  unhealthful  competition  with  other 
friendly  missions.  Their  attractive  schools  may  in- 
deed draw  upon  our  young  men,  as  the  government 
college  does  upon  theirs,  but  in  a  population,  now  so 
near  a  million,  there  must  be  ample  room  for  all. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

TAMIL   PEOPLE. 
THE   CEYLON   MISSION. 

1855-1867. 

The  Batticotta  Seminary  was  in  operation  thirty- 
one  years,  and  its  cost  in  that  time  was  „ 

*■  *  Uncxpccto'l 

about  $100,000,  including  the  salaries  of  ^f> 
its  missionary  teachers.  In  its  later  years,  nary 
the  admission  of  scholars  avIio  paid  their  board, 
unexpectedly  wrought  an  unfavorable  change  in 
the  institution,  by  introducing  students  from 
wealthy  families,  whose  main  object  was  to  fit  them- 
selves for  government  service.  The  influence  of 
this  class  was  not  good  upon  the  religious  character 
of  the  school.  In  the  year  1855,  only  eleven  of  the 
ninety-six  students  were  members  of  the  church. 

The  number  of  students,  who  had  been  church 
members  up  to  that  time,  was  six  hundred  and  sev- 
enty,—  somewhat  more  than  half  the  whole  num- 
ber; and  of  these  four  hundred  and  fifty  were  then 
living.  About  ninety  had  been  excommunicated, 
most  of  them,  it  appears,  for  marrying  heathen 
wives.     Eighty  of  the  graduates  were  then  in  the 


328  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

employ  of  the  American  mission,  and  thirty  were  in 
the  employ  of  other  missions ;  and  one  hundred  and 
fifty-eight  were  in  the  service  of  the  Ceylon  and  In- 
dia governments.  Among  those  engaged  in  govern- 
ment and  other  service,  were  some  who  honored  their 
Christian  profession  by  a  humble  and  consistent  life. 

The  institution  was  modified  by  the  mission  to 
meet  the  exigencies  of  the  times,  and  was  then 
called  "  The  Theological  and  Training  Institution  ;  " 
and  the  prescribed  course  of  study  was  eminently 
Biblical.  Mr.  Sanders  was  made  the  Principal,  and 
had  the  aid  of  two  native  teachers.  The  institution 
started  on  its  new  career  with  sixteen  students,  se- 
lected from  forty  candidates,  varying  in  their  ages 
from  sixteen  to  twenty-six. 

In  the  United  States  this  movement  was  regarded 
This  more-  by  some,  at  the  time,  as  being  retrograde. 
retrograde.  Yet  it  was  not,  nor  did  it  involve  any  seri- 
ous reflection  upon  the  past.  Missions  are  progress- 
ive, under  the  teachings  of  experience.  What  is 
good  policy  at  one  time,  may  require  modification  at 
another.  It  was  so  in  the  Ceylon  mission.  The 
only  reasonable  doubt  is,  whether  the  changes  were 
not  too  long  delayed. 

The   whole    number   of    pupils    in    the   English 

The  English  schools  for  preparing  pupils  for  the  Semi- 
schoois.        nary^  from   1830   to    1848?  was    seveuteen 

hundred.  The  largest  number  at  any  one  time,  was 
six  hundred   and  eighteen.     Six  years  later,  there 


CEYLON  MISSION.  329 

were  only  two  hundred  and  twenty-nine.  The  chief 
cause  of  this  reduction  was  the  belief  of  the  mis- 
sion, that  the  cost  of  English  studies  ought  to  de- 
volve mainly  on  the  parents,  whose  sole  motive  in 
sending  their  children  was  to  secure  for  them  secu- 
lar advancement.  Yet  these  schools  had  a  mission- 
ary value.  Besides  acquiring  the  English  language, 
the  students  pursued  a  thorough  course  in  the  ver- 
nacular, including  catechisms,  Scripture  history, 
and  other  studies  ;  and  these  studies  served  to  pro- 
long* the  school  education  of  the  boys. 

Heathen  parents  generally  saw  no  advantage  in 
giving  their  daughters  an  education,  and  Female  ^ 
there  were  strong  prejudices  against  it.  catlon' 
There  had  been  no  such  custom,  until  it  was  intro- 
duced by  the  mission.  Hence  arose  the  practice  of 
giving  the  girls  cloths,  as  an  inducement  to  attend 
school;  which  was  discontinued  in  1855,  after  an 
experiment  of  thirty  years.  But  few  girls  attended 
the  village  schools,  and  these  were  mostly  of  low 
caste  and  poor.  They  came  more  for  the  cloth  than 
for  education,  and  it  was  difficult  to  retain  them 
until  they  had  learned  to  read  the  Bible  and  re- 
ceived religious  impressions.  Then  the  schoolmas- 
ter often  felt  disgraced  in  teaching  such  girls.  Per- 
sons of  wealth  and  high  caste  rarely  sent  their 
daughters  to  the  village  schools.  The  case  was 
somewhat  different  in  the  select  girls'  schools  at  the 
stations,  supported  by  government  grants,  in  which 


330  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

cloths  and  jackets  were  given  twice  a  year,  with 
additional  grants  for  washing,  and  for  instruction  in 
sewing.  Christian  teachers  were  employed  in  those 
schools,  a  good  common  education  was  given  in 
them  to  many  girls  residing  near  the  stations  ;  and 
candidates  were  selected  from  them  for  the  Semi- 
nary at  Oodooville. 

One  of  the  good  results  of  discontinuing  English 
a  native  in  the  Batticotta  Seminary,  was  the  estab- 
uigh  school,  lishment  of  an  English  High  School  in 
1857,  by  the  native  community,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Mr.  Breckeiiridge,  a  native  member  of 
the  church,  who  had  been  one  of  the  best  teachers 
in  the  Batticotta  Seminary.  Mr.  Breckenridge's 
new  school  soon  had  one  hundred  and  thirty  schol- 
ars, between  the  ag-es  of  twelve  and  twenty.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  sell-sustaining  educational  in- 
stitutions among  the  native  Christians  in  Jaffna. 
The  time  had  evidently  come  for  devolving  the  ex- 
pense of  an  English  education,  in  great  part  at 
least,  upon  those  who  were  to  profit  by  it. 

After  two  years,  the  Breckenridge  English  High 
School  adopted  a  constitution,  which  declared  its 
object  to  be  imparting  "  useful  knowledge  to  native 
youth  upon  a  Protestant  Christian  basis ; "  its 
course  of  instruction  was  to  be  "  Biblical,  scientific, 
and  literary,  both  in  Tamil  and  English  ;  "  and  its 
Trustees  were  all  to  be  "  Protestant  Christians." 
Within  the  district  occupied  by  the  mission,  there 


CEYLON  MISSION.  831 

were  four  other  English  schools  in  1859,  supported 
by  natives,  and  the  Bible  and  Christian  lessons  were 
taught  in  all  of  them.  They  numbered,  together, 
over  four  hundred  pupils. 

Ill  view  of  these  encouraging  facts,  the  Pruden- 
tial   Committee   wrote   thus    to   the    mis-   _  ... 

Position  of 

•nn  ,  the  Pruden- 

'- 1UU  •  tlal  Couiuiit- 

"  We  would  encourage  the  natives  in 
efforts  they  are  disposed  to  make  for  supporting 
Christian  schools,  however  strongly  they  may  run  at 
first  in  the  English  direction ;  though  not  by  our 
becoming  a  party  and  co-laborer  in  such  schools. 
The  merit  of  their  enterprise  lies  in  its  being  their 
oivn,  independent  of  missionary  support.  We  can- 
not well  exaggerate  the  importance  of  guarding  our 
native  Christians  against  the  hope,  that  we  shall 
ever  return  to  the  teaching  of  their  children  the 
English  language,  to  be  used  as  a  means  of  procur- 
ing lucrative  secular  employments.  The  sooner 
they  understand,  that  there  is  no  ground  for  such  a 
hope,  the  better  will  it  be  for  them,  and  the  better 
for  the  cause. 

"  The  Christian  schools  for  English,  originated, 
taught,  supported  wholly  by  the  natives,  are  a  very 
different  thing,  in  their  practical  bearing,  from  what 
they  would  be  in  the  hands  of  the  mission,  sup- 
ported by  the  Board.  The  boon  is  no  longer  a 
charity,  nor  sought  as  such.  The  whole  operation 
is  under  the  laws  governing  demand   and  supply. 


332  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

Excessive  production,  such  as  was  under  the  old 
system,  is  checked.  The  young  natives,  who  shrink 
from  going*  far  from  home  in  missionary  employ- 
ment, even  so  far  as  Chavagacherry  is  from  Batti- 
cotta,  will  shrink  from  seeking  lucrative  employ- 
ments in  the  far  off  regions  of  Madras,  or  Burmah. 
Parents  will  weigh  probabilities,  before  spending 
their  own  money  for  board  and  tuition.  Then  we 
have  no  longer  the  entangling  alliances  of  patrons 
and  beneficiaries,  aud  the  consequent  dependence 
and  implied  obligations.  Our  relations  to  the  whole 
thing'  are  changed,  and  for  the  better. 

"  What  we  purpose,  therefore,  is  this  :  While  you 
reassure  our  Christian  natives,  that  we  shall  not  re- 
turn to  our  old  system,  you  should  also  assure  them 
that  we  shall  always  be  glad  to  see  them  helping 
themselves.  This  we  would  show  by  word  and  deed  ; 
by  kind  pastoral  visits  occasionally  to  the  schools ; 
by  a  cordial  attendance  and  aid  at  their  examina- 
tions in  studies  we  do  not  disapprove ;  by  procuring 
government  aid  for  them,  under  prudent  restric- 
tions; and  by  recommendations  of  worthy  pupils 
wheu  seeking  employment. 

"  The  Lord  has  certainly  work  to  be  accomplished 
in  Jaffna,  for  which  (mainly  through  missionary  in- 
strumentalities) He  has  made  much  preparation.  He 
has  converted  many  of  the  people,  and  He  will  doubt- 
less yet  convert  many  more.  And  notwithstanding 
the  sordidness  of  the  native  character,  notwithstand- 


CEYLON  MISSION.  333 

ing  the  temptations  afforded  by  the  English  lan- 
guage, by  the  ambitious,  worldly  influence  of  par- 
ents, and  by  the  offers  of  government,  traders,  and 
planters,  there  will  be  pious  young  men  in  Jaffna 
(as  in  this  country)  who,  after  all,  will  choose  the 
Gospel  ministry,  and  the  unambitious  life  of  the 
school-teacher ;  and  this  number,  on  the  present 
plan  of  our  mission,  will  be  on  the  increase.  True, 
we  are  now  in  a  transition  state,  and  of  course  are 
somewhat  unsettled  ;  but  we  are  making  progress, 
through  the  blessing  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  to- 
ward a  higher  stage  of  spirituality  and  efficiency." 

Speaking    of    former     pupils    of   the    Batticotta 
Seminary  found  within  the  parish  of  Oo-  Results  ..fa 

liberal  eilu- 

dooville,  Mr.  Spaulding  makes  the  follow-  nation, 
ing  statement :  "The  native  assistants  at  this  sta- 
tion report  fifty-five  young  men  within  the  limits  of 
this  field,  including  Kokkuville,  who  have  been  edu- 
cated more  or  less  in  the  Batticotta  Seminary,  ex- 
clusive of  those  employed  in  our  mission.  These 
statistics  show  that  more  than  two  thirds  of  these 
men  reside  in  their  own  villages,  or  in  the  District; 
more  than  two  thirds  have  been  church-members, 
and  only  fourteen  are  faulted  on  our  books.  Those 
in  public  office  are  often  at  home,  and  their  influ- 
ence is  not  small  in  their  villages.  Intelligence 
and  a  desire  for  education,  are  on  the  increase; 
these  very  men,  even  those  of  the  most  hopeless 
class,  are  much  more  easily  moved  than  the  i m per- 


334  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

vious  minds  of  the  besotted  heathen  ;  and  those  who 
keep  aloof  from  us,  or  turn  a  corner  to  avoid  ns,  are 
much  more  vulnerable  than  their  thick-headed  and 
sensual-hearted  neighbors.  With  the  worst  con- 
struction which  can  be  put  on  those  men  and  meas- 
ures, heathenism  is  a  great  loser,  and  Christianity 
gains  a  thousand-fold  by  such  education." 

The  "  Training  and  Theological  Institution  "  was 
TheTheo-      on  a  vernacular  basis,  with  a  purely  relig- 

logical   Sem-     . 

inary.  ions  object.     At  the  end  of  its  first   year, 

two  thirds  of  its  pupils  were  hopefully  pious,  and 
among  them  were  some  who,  for  talent  and  piety, 
bid  fair  to  rank  high  as  teachers  and  preachers. 
The  institution  was  the  chief  hope  of  the  mission  in 
respect  to  its  native  pastors  and  helpers. 

The  Prudential  Committee  wrote  thus  concerning 
it  in  1858  :  "  Our  Theological  School  will  accom- 
plish its  object,  should  it  collect  all  in  the  District, 
whose  piety,  talents,  and  spirit  will  make  them 
happy  in  its  pursuits,  be  their  number  more  or  less. 
We  have  no  funds  for  supporting  a  school  at  Batti- 
cotta  merely  for  the  sake  of  having*  one,  or  because 
we  have  so  long  had  one  there.  Let  us  begin  cau- 
tiously, and  be  content  with  having  only  the  men  we 
want.  On  the  plan  above  proposed,  there  must 
needs  be  a  respectable  number  at  our  command  to 
begin  with.  And  with  the  present  reduced  number 
of  missionaries  (and  not  all  of  these  in  health,  and 
some  just  arrived),  the  not  having  the  school  in  ses- 


CEYLON  MISSION.  335 

sion  during'  the  whole  year,  will  be  a  convenience. 
We  hope  yon  will  all  feel  that  the  school  exists 
solely  for  the  mission.  Let  it  be  what  yon  and  the 
Prudential  Committee  agree  in  believing-  it  ought  to 
be,  and  yon  need  not  fear  that  the  Christian  com- 
munity at  home  will  be  dissatisfied.  Missions  must 
be  worked,  if  worked  successfully,  on  their  true  and 
proper  merits.'' 

In  the  year  1860,  a  revival  brought  three  fourths 
of  the  pupils  into  the  church.  The  Principal  de- 
clared the  last  six  months  of  that  year  the  happiest 
in  his  missionary  life. 

A  native  member  of  the  church,  one  of  the  ear- 
liest converted,  died  in  1859.  He  was  of  Death  of  an 
humble  origin  and  condition,  but  honored  christian. 
the  Christian  profession  for  thirty-seven  years.  His 
Christian  name  was  Onesimus.  He  was  originally  a 
slave  of  the  covia  caste,  and  was  made  free  by  Mr. 
Poor  in  1821,  about  the  time  of  his  uniting-  with  the 
church.  His  age  at  that  time  was  supposed  to  be 
thirty-five,  consequently  he  died  at  the  age  of  sev- 
enty-three. Ten  years  after  his  conversion,  Onesi- 
mus was  made  a  deacon  in  the  church.  In  this 
office  he  continued  through  life,  and  though  not 
rising  to  great  influence,  he  never  hesitated  to  do 
his  duty  according  to  his  conception  of  it,  even 
when  it  was  to  warn  the  wealthy  and  the  learned. 
His  visits  from  house  to  house  were  frequent  among 
the  Christians,   and   sometimes  he  would  visit  the 


336  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

missionaries,  even  at  unseasonable  hours,  that  he 
might  kneel  with  them  in  prayer  for  some  man  or 
woman  whom  he  regarded  as  in  danger  of  being 
lost.  In  his  last  years  he  was  enfeebled  in  body  and 
mind,  but  was  always  meek,  humble,  childlike ;  and 
the  most  effectual  alleviation  of  his  severe  pains, 
when  on  his  death-bed,  was  reading  the  Scriptures 
to  him  and  prayer. 

Messrs.  Milan  H.  Hitchcock  and  James  Quick  and 
.  .       their  wives  joined  the  mission  in  1858,  and 

New  mission-  » 

aries  Mr.   James   A.    Bates   and   wife   in    1851. 

Failure  of  the  wife's  health  obliged  Mr.  Hitchcock 
to  return  in  1860,  Mr.  Bates  in  1863,  and  Mr.  Quick 
in  1868. 

Provision  for  general  education  devolves  properly 
on  the  native  community,  with  the  aid  of  govern- 
a  Native  meiit.  In  the  autumn  of  1867,  a  meeting 
jected.  of   native   Christians    connected    with   the 

different  Protestant  missions  in  Jaffna  was  held  at 
Batticotta,  to  consult  about  creating  a  Native  Col- 
lege. A  large  committee  was  appointed  to  solicit  a 
subscription  of  $25,000,  and  the  missionaries  of  the 
American  Board  were  requested  to  act  as  trustees, 
with  power  to  associate  with  themselves  an  equal 
number  of  native  gentlemen ;  while  the  Board  was 
desired  to  furnish  the  Principal,  through  its  mission. 
The  movement  indicated  an  advance  in  the  popular 
sentiment,  and  that  the  time  had  come  for  measures 
looking-  directly  to  the  close  of  the  mission  as  a 


CEYLON  MISSION.  337 

possible  result.  A  Christian  College  was  the  more 
obvious  of  these  measures,  constituted,  governed, 
instructed,  and  sustained  in  the  manner  proposed. 
There  was  supposed  to  be  piety  and  learning-  enough 
in  the  native  community,  and  enough  of  organ- 
ized religious  life  and  of  trustworthy  self-reliance, 
to  warrant  the  expectation  of  success  in  this  insti- 
tution. 

The  substantial  advance  made  by  the  mission  will 
more  clearly  appear,  if  we  take  into  view  a   A] 

*        l  *•  *  Advance  in 

statement  made  in  a  letter  from  the  mis-  themission- 
sion  in  the  year  1847,  eight  years  before  the  visit  of 
the  Deputation.  The  leading  object  of  the  letter 
was  to  show  why  the  mission  had  been  so  slow, 
hitherto,  in  putting  forward  a  native  ministry.  The 
Jaffna  field  has  proved  one  of  the  hardest  for  mis- 
sionary cultivation,  —  the  result,  perhaps,  of  pre- 
vious Roman  Catholic  and  Dutch  culture,  —  but  no- 
where else  could  the  various  educational  appliances 
have  had  more  ample  scope.  The  statement  was,  in 
substance,  as  follows  :  — 

1.  After  the  lapse  of  thirty  years,  there  was  but 
one  congregation  on  the  Sabbath  in  connection  with 
each  of  the  stations,  and  those  congregations  had 
so  few  voluntary  attendants  as  to  make  it  proper 
almost  to  leave  them  out  of  the  account,  being  com- 
posed chiefly  of  beneficiaries  and  dependants. 

2.  This  dependence  on  the  native  preachers, 
schoolmasters,  and   schools,  for  a    congregation   at 

22 


338  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

the  station,  hindered  the  gathering  of  other  con- 
gregations in  the  neighboring  villages  at  the  time 
of  the  station  service. 

3.  As  the  result  of  the  system  of  operations,  the 
mission  churches  were  educated  bodies,  and  so  de- 
manded the  most  efficient  -pastoral  care  that  could 
be  provided,  rendering  it  exceedingly  difficult  to 
train  up  adequate  native  pastors.  Yet,  while  the 
mission  supposed  that  none  but  missionaries  could 
fill  the  pastoral  office,  they  believed  that  the  natives, 
in  ordinary  life,  had  few  sympathies  in  common 
with  themselves.  The  churches  were  anomalous  in 
their  origin,  which  was  in  charity  boarding-schools  ; 
in  their  character,  being  educated  bodies;  and  in 
their  position,  which  to  a  great  extent  was  one  of 
dependence  upon  the  mission  for  pecuniary  aid. 

4.  As  things  then  were,  neither  native  pastors  nor 
native  preachers  were  thought  to  be  very  necessary, 
—  not  as  pastors,  because  there  were  no  flocks  for 
them  to  feed  ;  not  as  preachers,  because  there  were 
no  appropriate  congregations  for  them ;  nor  was 
there,  at  that  time,  any  native  convert  deemed  com- 
petent to  feed  the  flock  at  either  of  the  stations, 
except  under  the  supervision  of  a  missionary.  Of 
the  eight  natives  who  had  been  licensed  to  preach, 
not  more  than  two  had  then  given  reasonable  satis- 
faction as  preachers. 

5.  The  labors  of  the  missionaries  had  become  so 
various,  that  tbose  newlv  arrived  found  it  difficult 


CEYLON  MISSION.  339 

to  master  the  language  so  as  to  preach  fluently  and 
idiomatically,  and  the  great  variety  ol'  cares  made  it 
also  difficult  for  any  one  to  give  the  attention  need- 
ful for  the  proper  training  of  a  native  ministry. 

In  view  of  this  it  seemed  to  those,  whose  post  of 
duty  was  at  the  centre  of  the  operations,  A  ,legirable 
that  a  change  was  desirable  in  the  course  cl,ange- 
pursued.  Accordingly  the  Prudential  Committee 
advised,  that  the  excessive  dependence  of  the  con- 
g'regations  and  churches  upon  the  schools,  should  in 
some  way  be  brought  to  an  end.  Believing  the 
churches  and  pastorate  to  he  divine  institutions,  and 
most  intimately  correlated,  they  held  that  if  each 
were  properly  adapted  to  the  other,  there  would  be 
no  risk  in  bringing  them  together,  and  that  mis- 
sionaries should  be  evangelists,  and  not  pastors. 
They  believed  the  native  preachers  would  be  less 
likely  to  fail  under  the  responsibilities  of  the  pas- 
torate, than  when  hanging  loosely  on  religious  so- 
ciety as  mere  evangelists. 

The  first  ordination  at  Karadive,  described  in  the 
preceding  chapter,  was  regarded  as  a  good  ordination 

of  native 

step  in  advance.  A  still  more  important  pastors. 
one  was  the  ordaining*,  in  the  same  year,  of  one  of 
the  hest  educated  native  helpers  as  pastor  of  the 
church  at  Chavagacherry,  at  the  opposite  end  of  the 
field,  a  station  that  had  been  vacated  by  a  mission- 
ary. A  third  native  pastor  was  ordained  in  1858 
over  a  new   village   church    at  Valany.     In   1860 


340  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

another  village  church  was  formed  at  Navaly.  The 
church  purchased  land,  erected  a  house  of  worship, 
and  then  extended  a  call  to  a  native  preacher  who 
had  labored  among-  them,  and  he  was  installed  as 
their  pastor  in  1861.  This  pastor  was  supported  by 
the  Native  Evangelical  Society,  the  others  in  part 
by  their  own  churches. 

Of  the  three  native  assistants  who  had  been 
licensed  to  preach,  Mr.  Howland  wrote,  a  few  years 
later,  that  he  felt  great  confidence  in  them  as  men 
of  sincere  piety,  superior  intelligence,  and  growing 
excellence,  and  he  had  been  much  gratified  to  notice 
that  such  men  were  gradually  rising  in  influence, 
even  above  those  of  superior  talent  and  education, 
but  less  marked  for  Christian  earnestness. 

On  the  12th  of  May,  1862,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  C. 
Death  of  Mr.  Meigs  died  in  New  York  city,  in  the  sev- 
enty-third year  of  his  age.  He  was  one  of 
the  first  company  of  missionaries  to  Ceylon,  where 
he  spent  more  than  forty  years.  He  sent  three 
of  his  children  to  the  United  States  in  1834,  aud 
came  in  1840  with  the  rest  of  his  large  family.  In 
the  following  year  he  returned  to  Ceylon,  leaving 
his  family  in  the  United  States,  where  they  re- 
mained. When  advised,  after  fifteen  years,  in  view 
of  threatening  indications  as  to  his  health,  to  rejoin 
his  family,  he  remarked  that  he  could  have  done  no 
better  in  the  past,  than  he  had  done  for  his  family, 
or  for  the  mission.  He  came  to  America  in  1858, 
and  remained  there  till  his  death. 


CEYLON  MISSION.  341 

Mr.  Meigs's  sacrifices  in  the  cause  of  his  Master 
were  great,  and  he  made  them  cheerfully.  His  orig- 
inal choice  of  the  missionary  life  is  understood  to 
have  been  with  a  singularly  calm  deliberation,  and 
his  adherence  to  it  was  in  the  same  spirit.  He  died 
as  he  had  lived,  bearing  testimony  to  the  grace  of 
God.  At  the  close  of  a  prayer,  on  the  night  of  his 
death,  commending  him,  his  family,  the  cause  of 
missions,  and  all  the  precious  interests  of  the  Re- 
deemer's kingdom  to  God,  he  lifted  his  hands,  and 
with  deep  emotion  responded,  Amen. 

A  step  fraught  with  the  highest  promise  to  the 
cause  of  Christ  in  Jaffna  was  taken  at  Bat-  interesting 
ticotta  in  1867,  by  the  oldest  church  in  the  i^tticotta. 
mission.  The  church  decided,  not  only  to  have  a 
pastor,  but  to  be  self-governed,  self-snpported,  and 
independent  of  the  mission  in  everything,  except 
Christian  counsel.  Altogether  this  was  a  decisive 
proof  of  the  hold  the  Gospel  had  taken  on  the  life 
of  the  people. 

A  meeting  of  the  male  members  of  the  church 
was  held  on  the  day  of  the  annual  thanksgiving, 
and  one  of  their  number  having  been  chosen  chair- 
man, remarks  were  made  by  different  members  on 
the  necessity  of  having  a  native  pastor,  and  sup- 
porting him  without  foreign  aid.  Messrs.  Howland 
and  Hastings  were  present,  but  only  as  spectators. 
On  the  first  point  all  were  agreed,  but  there  was 
doubt   as   to   the   possibility  of  raising  the   entire 


342  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

salary.  An  effort  already  made  had  secured  only 
half  of  it,  and  even  the  most  sanguine  expressed 
apprehension ;  but  then  it  was  said  by  some,  that 
they  ought  not  to  have  a  pastor  until  they  could 
support  him.  At  length  one  pledged  himself  to  pay 
the  salary  for  a  month,  another  did  the  same,  and  a 
third  said,  "  I  have  been  thinking  that,  were  I  a 
heathen,  I  should  give  annually  for  ceremonies  for 
my  deceased  parents,  and  I  will  give  as  much  for 
the  support  of  a  pastor."  The  result  was  a  unani- 
mous vote  to  support  him. 

When  ready  for  the  choice,  the  chairman  read 
Acts  i.  23-26,  and  xiii.  1-3,  and  led  in  prayer  for 
divine  direction.  Nearly  all  the  votes  were  for  Ben- 
jamin H.  Rice,  principal  native  teacher  of  the  The- 
ological and  Training  Institution,  and  one  of  the 
three  recently  licensed  to  preach.  He  was  present, 
and  expressed,  in  a  voice  tremulous  with  emotion, 
his  feeling  of  unworthiness  for  the  office ;  but  said, 
as  the  call  had  been  entirely  unsought  by  himself, 
he  would  accept  it  on  the  condition,  that  they  would 
sustain  him  by  their  sympathy  and  prayers.  The 
day  for  the  ordination  was  stormy,  yet  more  than 
four  hundred  were  present,  and  some  natives  who 
were  connected  with  the  English  mission.  Mr. 
Howland  says  of  the  occasion  :  "  It  was  one  not 
soon  to  be  forgotten  by  those  present,  and  certainly 
not  by  me.  Twenty-one  years  before,  I  preached 
my  first  sermon  on  heathen  ground  in  that  pulpit, 


CEY/.ON  MISSION.  343 

and  it  has  ever  since  been  peculiarly  dear  to  me." 
To  make  room  for  the  new  pastor,  Mr.  Howland  re- 
moved from  Batticotta  to  Tillipallv  ;  and  it  deserves 
to  be  recorded,  that  the  change  made  by  the  native 
pastor  from  the  Seminary  to  the  Pastorate,  was  at 
considerable  pecuniary  sacrifice. 

A  committee  of  the  church  soon  after  wrote  thus 
to  their  patrons  in  this  country  :  — 

"  While  this  church  is  no  longer  under  the  care 
and  the  control  of  the  mission,  though  sub-  T  ..    r 

'  o  Letter  from 

ject  to  its  counsel,  they  feel  bound  to  ex-  thechurch- 
press  their  filial  gratitude  to  the  churches  in  Amer- 
ica. The  name  Jaffna,  and  particularly  Batticotta, 
is  dear  to  thousands  through  the  length  and  breadth 
of  your  Christian  land.  This  district  has  been  colo- 
nized, not  with  men  from  America,  but  with  Ameri- 
can feelings,  taste,  and  religion.  The  standard  of 
the  cross  is  now  erected  here,  and  this  church  feels 
it  to  be  her  duty,  with  unfeigned  gratitude  to  ac- 
knowledge, that  she  owes  all  that  she  is,  and  all 
that  she  has,  under  God,  to  the  churches  in  Amer- 
ica. We  are  now  an  independent  church,  with  a 
pastor  of  our  own,  and  hope  before  long  to  be  able 
to  support  our  own  schools,  and  catechists,  and 
preachers.  We  are  forming-  a  congregation  from 
those  who  are  willing  to  renounce  heathenism  and 
adapt  themselves  to  Christian  forms  and  practices, 
who  are  increasing  in  number.  We  ask  your 
prayers,  that  this  church  may  not  fail  in   its  effort 


344  vrssiONS  to  India. 

to  stand  alone,  but  may  preserve  its  faith  to  the 
end,  and  shine  to  the  glory  of  Christ,  as  an  example 
to  the  Hindu  world.  May  Jesus,  our  common  Lord, 
grant  that  we  all,  in  one  communion,  may  shine  as 
precious  gems  upon  his  crown  throughout  eter- 
nity." 1 

Looking  back  from  this  point  (1867),  we  see  very 
a  pleasing  marked  progress  in  the  work  of  this  mis- 
re  spec .  sjon_  The  native  church  at  Batticotta,  — 
with  its  pastor  of  the  same  race,  self-governed,  self- 
reliant,  looking  no  longer  to  the  mission  except  for 
fraternal  counsel,  gathering  a  Christian  congrega- 
tion around  it,  and  aiming  to  shine  to  the  glory  of 
Christ,  —  is  a  monument  of  success. 

In  that  year,  there  were  ten  churches  within  the 
hounds  of  the  mission,  containing  four  hundred  and 
eighty-four  members.  Twenty-seven  regular  ser- 
vices were  held  on  the  Sabbath,  and  frequent  meet- 
ings among  the  heathen  during  the  week,  on  moon- 
light evenings.  Of  these  meetings  Mr.  Howland 
says  :  "  There  was  formerly  more  or  less  opposition 
in  them.  Now,  opposition  or  dispute  is  rare.  There 
seems  to  be  a  serious  attention,  and  an  apparent 
conviction  on  the  minds  of  many  that  we  preach  the 
truth.  This  is  encouraging.  The  seed  sown  with 
tears,  by  those  who  have  gone  before  us,  for  so  many 
years,  certainly  cannot  be  in  vain  ;  and  we  some- 
times think  the  time  of  harvest  may  be  near." 

1  Missionary  Herald,  1867,  pp.  283,  302. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE   TAMIL   PEOPLE. 
CEYLON   MISSION. 

1867-1873. 

It  has   been   already  stated,  that  a  printer  was 
sent  to  this  mission  in  the  year  1821,  and  _,. 

J  The  mission- 

that  he  was  banished  from  the  island  by  the  ary  printing- 
Governor.  The  press  was  then  deposited  with  the 
Church  missionaries  at  Vellore,  and  thus  at  once  be- 
came available  for  printing-  books  and  tracts.  On 
the  removal  of  restrictions  in  1834,  it  was  returned 
to  the  mission,  and  set  up  at  Manepy.  The  arrival 
of  Mr.  Minor  led  to  an  enlargement  of  the  estab- 
lishment, and  in  1838  four  presses  were  in  opera- 
tion, and  seventy  men  employed  in  the  printing- 
office  and  bindery.  Owing  to  the  climate  and  na- 
tive habits,  they  would  do  only  about  half  the  work 
of  the  same  number  of  men  in  America.  This  scale 
of  operations  was  continued,  with  some  variations, 
for  twelve  years,  and  a  large  amount  of  printing  of 
various  kinds  was  done  in  Tamil  and  English ;  but 
in  1850  the  number  of  workmen  was  reduced  one 
half.     There  were  printed,  during  the  thirteen  years 


^J46  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

in  which  the  press  was  at  Vellore,  forty-three  tracts 
and  250,000  copies.  A  large  printing  establishment, 
if  it  must  be  constantly  employed,  becomes  exacting 
in  its  demands  on  the  time  and  labor  of  a  mission. 
It  was  so  with  this  establishment.  It  had  been  the 
means  of  great  good,  but  the  Ceylon  missionaries 
came  at  length  to  the  conclusion,  that  if  the  press 
were  owned  and  worked  by  native  Christians,  with 
occasional  aid  from  Madras,  the  requirements  of  the 
mission  conld  still  be  met ;  and  in  1855,  the  establish- 
ment, after  some  further  reduction,  was  sold,  under 
certain  stipulations,  to  native  Christians  in  Jaffna, 
who  had  been  trained  in  the  office.  Mr.  Burnell, 
who  was  in  charge  of  the  establishment,  was  soon 
after  transferred  to  the  Madura  mission,  where  he 
was  ordained  as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel. 

In  twenty  years  from  1834,  the  number  of  pages 
printed  was  nearly  172,000,000,  the  number  of  dis- 
tinct publications  being  two  hundred  and  ninety. 
Not  less  than  one  hundred  and  forty  of  the  publica- 
tions were  tracts,  issued  chiefly  at  the  expense  of 
the  American  Tract  Society.  In  addition,  the 
Jaffna  Tract  Society  had  printed  260,000  copies  of 
an  almanac,  called  the  Tamil  Calendar.  Among  the 
Tamil  publications,  was  a  dictionary,  of  about  nine 
hundred  octavo  pages,  and  works  on  geography, 
anatomy,  algebra,  aud  the  like,  of  about  two  hun- 
dred pages  each.  Among  the  publications  in  Eng- 
lish aud  Tamil  were  a  dictionary  of  nearly  a  thou- 


CEYLON  MISSION.  347 

sand  large  octavo  pages,  and  the  "  Morning  Star," 
a  semi-monthly  periodical  commenced  in  1841,  em- 
bracing- .sixteen  quarto  volumes.  Of  English  publi- 
cations, the  number  of  copies  was  about  fifty  thou- 
sand, and  the  grand  total  of  copies  was  three  and  a 
half  millions.  The  volumes  issued  from  the  bindery 
numbered  75C,000;  and  nearly  one  third  of  this 
printed  matter  was  the  Word  of  God. 

The  'k  Morning-  Star  "  was  regarded  by  the  mis- 
sion as  an  effective  instrument  of  good.  Its  columns 
being  open  to  objections  against  Christianity,  its 
tendency  was  to  develop  public  sentiment,  and  se- 
cure a  perusal  of  the  answers  to  those  objections. 
As  educated  natives  became  widely  scattered,  this 
periodical  retained  an  influence  over  them,  and  it 
was  invaluable  among  the  Christian  families  con- 
nected with  the  mission.  After  .1855,  it  was  en- 
larged, and  issued  as  a  monthly,  wholly  in  the  Tamil 
lamruas-e.  Its  subscribers  in  1856  numbered  six 
hundred  and  forty-five,  and  more  than  a  third  of 
them  were  heathen. 

The  medical  department  of  the  mission  requires 
a  few  additional  statements.  Messrs.  War-  Themedical 
ren  and  Richards,  of  the  first  mission  com-  de^rlmeat- 
pany,  had  a  knowledge  of  medicine,  and  commenced 
its  practice  among  the  people.  Dr.  Scudder  entered 
upon  his  labors  as  a  missionary  physician  in  1819, 
and  trained  a  few  native  young  men  to  practice  on 
European  principles.     Dr.  Ward  took  charge  of  the 


348  MJSSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

department  in  1833,  and  Dr.  Green  in  1847.  Sev- 
enty-two young"  men  have  been  instructed  in  med- 
icine, and  a  class  of  eighteen  more  will  probably 
graduate  near  the  close  of  1875.  Several  of  the 
graduates  have  become  good  practitioners.  The 
medical  teaching  in  English  was  relinquished  in 
1864  for  teaching  in  Tamil,  and  a  set  of  vernacular 
text  books  is  in  course  of  preparation.  Several 
of  the  volumes,  amounting  to  about  three  thousand 
pages  octavo,  and  copiously  illustrated,  have  been 
completed. 

The  prevalence  of  the  cholera  in  the  early  part 
Deaths  from  °^  1867  was  nearly  unprecedented.  The 
cholera.  deaths  in  the  province,  as  estimated  by  the 
Government,  were  ten  thousand.  Twenty-five  com- 
municants, and  many  of  the  baptized  children,  were 
numbered  with  the  dead.  It  was  necessary  to  dis- 
band most  of  the  schools.  Rachel,  a  pious  widow 
with  a  numerous  family,  attended  upon  a  son,  a  son- 
in-law,  and  seven  grandchildren,  who  died  of  the 
pestilence,  and  upon  others  who  recovered.  At 
length  she  also  passed  away,  in  full  hope  of  going 
"  to  Mount  Zion  above,"  as  she  expressed  it.  Mr. 
Howland  pronounced  her  "  a  mother  in  Israel," 
whom  he  had  known  for  twenty-one  years,  without 
being  able  to  recollect  a  word  said  against  her  by 
any  one. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sanders  returned  from  the  United 
States  at  the  close  of  1867,  and  were  accompanied 


CEYLON  MISSION.  349 

by  Miss  Harriet  E.  Townshend,  who  was  to  take 
charge  of  the  new  girls'  boarding-school  DeathofMrs. 
at  Oodoopitty.  In  November  of  the  follow- 
ing  year  the  mission  was  sorely  afflicted  by  the  death 
of  Mrs.  Sanders,  after  a  brief  sickness,  —  a  woman 
greatly  beloved,  and  eminently  useful. 

Mr.  Capron,  of  the  Madura  Mission,  instead  of 
ffoiujr  to   the    Sanitarium   on    the    l'ulney  interesting 

n  °  .         view  of  the 

Hills,    visited    Jaffna   with    his    family    in  mission. 
June,  1868,  and  gives  an  animated  view  of  the  mis- 
sion as  it  appeared  to  him  in  his  sojourn. 

"  Jaffna,"  he  says,  "  and  especially  Batticotta  and 
Oodooville,  were  pictures  so  pleasant  in  the  fancy 
of  my  boyhood,  that  I  almost  hesitated  to  dispel  the 
dream.  But  the  reality  is  as  much  better  than  the 
dream.  I  found  the  graves  of  some  of  those  early 
missionaries  —  Harriet  Win  slow,  whose  memoir  I 
now  read  with  double  interest,  and  Father  Poor, 
whom  I  revered  perhaps  as  much  as  any  saint  in 
the  calendar.  I  found  also  one  of  those  noble  men 
still  living,  who  entered  the  field  before  I  was  born, 
and  who,  if  he  lives  another  year,  will  celebrate 
his  semi-centennial  on  missionary  ground.  It 
might  disturb  his  gravity  to  be  classed  as  yet  with 
saints,  but  he  was  a  worthy  companion  of  those 
worthy  men  who  have  passed  away,  and  while  I 
delighted  in  his  genial  hospitality  and  social  con- 
verse, I  looked  upon  him  with  the  reverence  which 
is  inspired  by  a  long  life  of  usefulness,  and  by  the 


850  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

thought  that  he  must  ere  long"  pass  the  river,  iuto 
which  he  has  ouce  dipped  his  feet  and  returned. 

"  His  wife  lives,  and  is  as  worthy  of  him,  as  he  is 
of  the  nohle  company  which  lias  g-one  before  him. 
We  found  Miss  Agnew,  also,  after  a  service  of 
twenty-eight  years  unbroken  by  a  visit  to  her  native 
country,  still  at  her  post,  and  full  of  activity. 

"  When  Father  Spaulding  had  shown  me  the 
school-room  and  dormitories,  and  the  magnificent 
fruit  trees  of  the  school-yard,  —  his  own  planting, — 
he  pointed  to  a  long,  low  building,  and  said,  '  There 
is  where  the  power  lies.'  It  was  a  row  of  small 
rooms  for  secret  prayer. 

"  Oodooville  is  not  so  very  much  altered  from  old 
times,  except  for  the  better,  by  discarding  English, 
but  I  was  glad  to  learn  that  female  education  has 
become  so  popular  in  Jaffna  that  pupils,  who  could 
not  otherwise  be  admitted,  pay  a  large  portion  of 
the  expense  of  their  board  and  tuition. 

"  Batticotta,  as  it  was  and  as  it  is,  forms  an  in- 
structive page  of  missionary  experience.  It  must 
have  cost  the  mission  a  severe  struggle  to  give  up 
the  prestige  of  their  splendid  English  school,  and  it 
was  certainly  a  step  which  the  natives  have  never 
ceased  to  deplore.  But  Batticotta  is  mightier  than 
ever  for  the  work  of  Christianizing  the  island,  and 
Mr.  Sanders,  I  believe,  appreciates  the  value  of  the 
influences  which  are  committed  to  his  trust.  I 
found  there  a  training  institution,  not  made  up  of 


CEYLON  MISSION.  351 

boys,  but  of  young  men,  either  hopefully  converted 
or,  at  least,  fully  committed  to  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity. I  found  a  flourishing  English  school  of 
some  two  hundred  members,  under  Christian  man- 
agement, the  Principal1  showing  his  own  disposition 
by  taking  an  active  part  as  a  member  of  the  church 
committee,  and  giving,  as  1  was  told,  one  tenth  of 
his  income  in  benevolence.  I  found  a  native  church, 
not  only  entirely  supporting  its  pastor,  but  support- 
ing also  a  good  school  for  girls.  I  found  an  intelli- 
gent and  well-to-do  Christian  community,  living  in 
the  enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel,  and 
compelling  the  respect  of  their  heathen  neighbors. 
One  might  well  envy  the  power  there  is  in  Batti- 
cotta,  and  indeed  in  the  Jaffna  Church,  in  view  of 
the  time  when  God  shall  pour  out  his  Holy  Spirit. 

"  Oodoopitty  is  the  most  northeasterly  station  of 
the  mission,  and  considering  its  salubrity  and  the 
character  of  its  people,  is  one  of  the  most  inviting 
missionary  stations  in  India.  The  new  female  board- 
ing-school has  commenced  its  career  of  usefulness 
with  about  twenty  pupils,  and  Miss  Townshend, 
whose  mind  was  turning  toward  the  missionary  field 
at  the  very  time  that  the  missionaries  were  looking  to 
the  United  States  for  some  such  young  lady,  is  most 
happy  in  her  work,  and  has  that  work  well  in  hand/' 
The  mission  must  have  enjoyed,  at  this  time,  more 
than  usual    spiritual    prosperity.     There   was    more 

1  Mr.  Brcckenridge. 


352  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

than  the  usual  religions  activity.  This  was  specially 
true  at  Manepy,  Tillipally,  Panditeripo,  and  Navaly, 
in  which  many  had  begun  to  give  a  tenth  of  their 
income  to  Christian  objects.  The  subject  of  liberal 
giving  had  been  discussed  at  the  annual  convocation 
of  the  churches,  held  in  concert  with  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  American  Board.  A  native  pastor 
presented,  as  an  example,  the  efforts  of  the  Chris- 
tians of  Kessab  in  Central  Turkey.  Mr.  Sanders 
spoke  of  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of  many  Chris- 
tians in  America,  and  others  referred  to  the  self- 
supporting  churches  of  Burmali  and  Eastern  Tur- 
key. The  occasion  was  one  of  the  deepest  interest, 
and  full  of  hope  for  the  future.  Not  the  least 
impressive  part  of  it  was  the  communion-service, 
presided  over  by  the  venerable  Dr.  Spaulding,  as- 
sisted by  Mr.  Stickney,  a  native  pastor,  at  which 
three  hundred  professed  followers  of  Christ  renewed 
their  covenant  vows  to  Christ  and  each  other. 

Not  only  was  there  increased  liberality,  many 
were  active  in  personal  efforts  to  commend  the  Gos- 
pel to  others.  At  Tillipally,  the  Sabbath  afternoon 
service  was  given  up,  and  the  male  members  went 
out,  two  by  two,  into  the  villages,  with  portions  of 
Scripture  and  tracts,  to  read  and  talk  with  the  peo- 
ple, and  were  generally  well  received.  The  women 
met  Mrs.  Howland  at  the  same  time  for  prayer, 
Bible-reading,  and  study.  Mr.  Sanders  believed 
that  more  than  four  thousand  families  were  reached 


CEYLON  MISSION.  353 

ill  his  field,  daring  the  year,  by  the  native  helpers, 
and  Mr.  Rowland  reported  fifteen  hundred  houses  as 
visited  in  his  field.  Thus  thoroughly  was  the  good 
seed  being  sown. 

The  mission  was  strengthened  in  1869  by  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  William  E.  De  Riemer  and  his  wife. 

In  1855,  and  even  some  years  later,  it  was  difficult 
for  the   churches  to  realize,  that   natives  „,. 

Change  of 

were  needed  as  pastors.  The  missionary  n/'rV.'.'T.V/tiv^ 
must  preach,  baptize,  marry  their  children,  *** 
visit  the  sick,  bury  their  dead,  and  administer  the 
ordinances  of  the  Gospel.  But  in  1868  the  principle 
was  generally  admitted,  and  cordially  received  by 
the  most  influential  Christians,  that  natives  should 
be  pastors.  The  duty  of  the  church  to  support  the 
Gospel  to  the  extent  of  its  ability  was  accepted,  and 
the  duty  of  the  Christian  to  return  at  least  a  tenth 
of  his  income  to  the  Lord  in  benevolent  contribu- 
tions, was  admitted  by  many,  who  gave  accordingly. 
One  church  (at  Batticotta)  had  assumed  the  full 
support  of  its  pastor,  and  two  others,  under  the 
pastoral  care  of  natives,  were  rising  in  their  con- 
tributions ;  and  those  without  native  pastors  were 
taking  upon  themselves  a  part  of  the  support  of 
those  who  statedly  preached  to  them.  The  care  of 
church  edifices,  and  of  the  church  poor,  was  gen- 
erally assumed  by  the  native  Christians. 

The  peculiar  adaptation  of  the  native  pastorate  to 
the  native  wants  was  exemplified  when  Mr.  Hunt, 

23 


354  MISSIONS   TO   INDIA. 

long-  native  pastor  at  Chavagacherry,  was  called,  by 
the  Directors  of  the  Jaffna  College,  to  take  the 
place  of  head  teacher  in  that  institution.  Mr.  De 
Riemer  says :  "At  the  pastor's  farewell  meeting,  I 
was  struck  by  the  tenderness  of  the  remarks  made 
by  one  and  another  of  the  church.  One,  a  black- 
smith, who  has  not  long  been  a  member,  and  is 
the  only  Christian  of  his  family,  wept  like  a  child. 
When  I  spoke  with  him  at  the  close  of  the  meeting, 
he  unwittingly  g-ave  the  best  testimony  to  the  supe- 
riority of  native  over  missionary  pastors.  He  said, 
substantially :  '  We  respect  the  missionaries,  and 
wish  to  please  them,  but  they  are  white  men,  and 
do  not  know  our  trials.  Our  pastor  knew  our  trials, 
our  family  difficulties,  our  weaknesses,  and  our  igno- 
rance. He  came  to  our  houses  aud  our  shops,  and 
instructed  us  how  we  should  act  in  a  way  that  the 
white  man  cannot  do.  But  now  we  have  lost  him, 
we  shall  have  no  teacher.'  " 

The  future  of  missions  has  much  to  hope  from 
The  children  the  sons  and  daughters  of  missionaries. 
the  fathers.  Mr.  Thomas  S.  Smith,  a  son  of  Mr.  J.  C. 
Smith,  and  his  wife,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Fairbank  of 
the  Mahratta  mission,  joined  the  Ceylon  mission  in 
July,  1871.  Two  sous  and  a  daughter  of  Mr.  How- 
land,  of  the  Ceylon  mission,  also  joined  the  India 
missions  in  1873,  —  one  going  to  the  Madura  mis- 
sion, the  other  and  the  daughter  to  Ceylon.  In  the 
same  year,  also,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  Minor  joined  the 


CEYLON  MISSION.  355 

Madura  mission  as  the  wife  of  a  son  of  Mr.  Chandler. 
Mr.  J.  C.  Smith,  father  of  the  missionary  of  that 
name,  had  been  constrained  by  failing'  health  to 
come  to  the  United  States  with  his  wife,  where  she 
died  on  the  15th  of  May,  1873.  She  had  been  a 
faithful  and  earnest  worker  since  1837. 

Mr.  Sanders  visited  the  United  States  in  1870,  to 
obtain  funds  for  the  proposed  Jaffna  Col-  DeathofMp. 
lege ;  and,  soon  after  his  return,  died  sud- 
denly at  Batticotta,  on  the  29th  of  August,  1871,  at 
the  age  of  forty-eight.  He  was  struck  with  apo- 
plexy in  the  midst  of  apparent  health.  The  loss  was 
severely  felt,  he  having  been  eighteen  years  an  ac- 
tive and  efficient  member  of  the  mission,  enjoying 
the  confidence  and  love  of  all. 

As  1874  was  the  jubilee  year  of  the  Oodooville 
Seminary,  a  number  of  its  graduates  met  Aplpasing 
in  the  May  preceding,  to  consider  what  ,ncident 
should  be  done  on  that  occasion.  None  but  women 
were  at  the  meeting,  and  some  of  these  had  be- 
longed to  the  very  first  class.  After  devotional  ex- 
ercises, five  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted, 
and  they  show  the  "  educated  women  of  Jaffna  "  to 
be  far  in  advance  of  their  uneducated  predecessors. 
The  preamble  and  first  resolution  read  as  follows  :  — 

"  We,  the  educated  women  of  Jaffna,  being 
deeply  sensible  of  the  benefits  we  have  derived  from 
the  labors  of  Protestant  missionaries,  and  feeling 
special  gratitude  to  our  much  beloved  and  venerated 


356  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

instructors,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Spaulding,  who  have  with 
parental  love  and  care  spent  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury in  self-denying  labors  for  our  good  and  the 
good  of  our  people,  and  to  our  highly  esteemed 
teacher,  Miss  E.  Agnew,  who  for  a  third  of  a  cen- 
tury has  been  untiring-  in  her  efforts  to  promote 
female  education,  desire  to  express  in  some  definite 
and  permanent  form  our  respect  and  affection  for 
them,  and  our  gratitude  for  their  labors,  and  desire 
at  the  same  time  to  perpetuate  their  memory.  With 
this  object  in  view,  we  therefore  Resolve,  — 

"  1.  That  we  will  raise  a  fund,  to  be  called  the 
Spaulding  and  Agnew  Fund,  the  interest  of  which 
shall  be  placed  at  their  disposal  while  they  live,  and 
afterwards  shall  be  used  for  the  education  of  girls 
needing  aid  in  the  Oodooville  Female  Boarding- 
school." 

In  the  second  resolution,  they  invite  all  who  have 
been  connected  with  the  institution  to  meet  at  the 
Jubilee,  and  formally  present  the  fund  which  should 
be  collected. 

Dr.  Spaulding,  after  having  been  longer  in  active 
Death  of  Dr    f01'eigu  labor  than  any  other  missionary  of 

Spaulding.         the   Boardj  died  on  the  lgth  of  Junej    lg73j 

the  month  following  this  interesting  expression  of 
respect.  Ten  days  prior  to  his  death,  he  had  cele- 
brated the  fifty-fourth  anniversary  of  his  embarka- 
tion for  Ceylon. 

In  this,  the  last  biographical  sketch  in  this  his- 


CEYLON  MISSION.  o57 

tory,  I  may  be  allowed  to  avail  myself  of  one  pre- 
pared for  Dr.  Spaulding  by  Dr.  Augustus  C.  Thomp- 
son for  the  Missionary  Herald  ;  thus  reviving  our 
common  memories  of  a  great  and  good  man,  dating 
back  to  our  visit  to  Ceylon,  almost  twenty  years 
ago :  — 

"  The  voyage  of  the  brig  Indus  was  memorable  for 
a  work  of  grace  on  board,  during  which  the  entire 
crew,  sixteen  in  number,  expressed  the  hope,  and  at 
the  time  appeared  to  give  evidence,  of  a  saving 
change.  This  might  be  regarded  as  a  prelude  to 
those  interesting  revivals  in  Jaffna,  which  afforded 
so  much  delight  to  Dr.  Spaulding  and  other  labor- 
ers there,  and  to  which  he  gratefully  referred  in  his 
last  sickness. 

"  He  arrived  at  Jaffna  in  the  early  part  of  1820. 
From  that  time  onward  he  continued  faithfully, 
quietly,  and  most  industriously  to  labor  as  an  ambas- 
sador of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  among  the  Tamul- 
ians  of  Northern  Ceylon,  —  a  people  by  no  means  so 
degraded  as  many  of  the  heathen,  and  compara- 
tively independent  in  their  bearing*,  ingenious  and 
thrifty,  while  yet  thoroughly  wedded  to  their  idols, 
and  morally  callous,  as  any  that  can  be  found. 

"  In  addition  to  the  usual  missionary  work  at  his 
station,  and  superintendence  of  the  Oodooville  Fe- 
male Boarding-school,  established  in  1824,  Dr. 
Spaulding  performed  a  large  amount  of  literary 
labor.    For  many  years,  he  had  the  revision  of  works 


358  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

carried  through  the  press  by  the  local  Tract  and 
Bible  Societies,  and  he  acted  also  as  proof-reader. 
More  than  twenty  Tamil  tracts  were  prepared  by 
him,  and  many  of  the  best  hymns  in  the  vernacular 
hymn-book  were  from  his  pen.  He  furnished  an 
excellent  translation  of  *  Pilgrim's  Progress,'  much 
prized  by  the  people,  and  compiled  a  Scripture  His- 
tory, which  is  used  in  the  schools.  To  him  also  the 
mission  is  indebted  for  a  Tamil  Dictionary,  as  well 
as  an  enlarged  and  improved  edition  of  an  English 
and  Tamil  Dictionary,  each  of  which  is  the  best  in 
use  on  the  island.  Another  work,  to  which  he  had 
given  no  small  amount  of  time,  was  a  revision  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  in  Tamil.  His  notes  he  left  to  the 
local  Bible  Society,  in  the  hope  that  they  may  fur- 
nish aid  in  a  future  improved  version.  These  con- 
tributions will  no  doubt  prove  valuable,  for  he  was 
one  of  the  most  accurate  Tamil  scholars  in  South- 
ern India,  having  so  mastered  the  language  as  to 
use  it  with  great  facility,  and  often  with  power. 
This  must  be  reckoned  among  the  reasons  for  the 
usefulness,  contentment,  and  length  of  his  mission- 
ary life. 

"Dr.  Spaulding  rarely  spoke  of  what  he  was 
doing,  and  still  more  rarely  of  what  he  had  done  ; 
but  not  unfrequeutly  of  the  great  work  yet  to  be 
accomplished,  and  the  short  period  which  a  mission- 
ary has  for  this  blessed  employment.  Self-com- 
placency and  jealousy  for  bis  own  comfort  and  repu- 


CEYLON  MISSION.  359 

tation,  were  not  his  characteristics.  During  his 
term  of  service,  protracted  to  such  an  unusual 
length,  he  made  only  one  visit  to  the  United  States." 
Many  will  recollect  his  presence  at  the  annual  meet- 
ing- of  the  Board  in  Worcester  in  1814,  and  the  apt- 
ness, kindliness,  and  raciness  of  the  replies  to  ques- 
tions publicly  put  to  him  on  that  occasion.   , 

"Father  Spaulding  was  a  shrewd  man,  a  man  of 
humor,  utterly  unostentatious,  and  quietly  industri- 
ous;   a  man  of  prayer,  and  wholly  devoted  to  the 
work  to  which  our  Lord  had  called  him.     He  was 
decided  iu  his  views,  free  in  the  expression  of  them, 
tenacious  in  adhering  to  them,  and  yet  a  man  of 
peace.    Foreigners  of  all  classes  in  Ceylon  respected 
him.     The  esteem  and  affection  of  natives  were  also 
marked.     It  was  often  affecting  to  witness,  during 
his  last  sickness,  the  anxiety  shown  by  them  to  do 
anything  in  their  power  for  the  good  man's  comfort. 
Some  of  them  were  in  constant  attendance,  fanning 
him,  or  performing  other  loving  ministries.      Two 
of  Dr.  Green's  former  medical   students  alternated 
day  and    night  in    their  services,  while  either  Mr. 
Hastings  or  Mr.  Smith  was  at  hand  throughout  his 
decline.     Owing  to  difficulty  of  breathing,  he  could 
recline  but  very  little  during  the  two  weeks  of  con- 
finement to  his  room,  and  his  body  became  so  swol- 
len as  to  make  it  hard  to  find  an  easy  position  ;  yet 
he  did  not  seem  to  suffer  severe  pain. 

"  On  account  of  labored  respiration  Dr.  Spauld- 


360  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

ing"  was  not  able  to  converse  much.  No  sign  of  com- 
plaint escaped  his  lips ;  his  own  interests,  and  the 
missionary  work,  he  committed  to  the  hands  of  the 
Master,  expressing*  no  solicitude  and  no  fear.  Al- 
luding to  his  death  about  to  take  place,  he  said, 
characteristically,  "  Let  my  funeral  be  conducted 
with  Puritan  simplicity ;  let  there  be  no  words  of 
praise  or  blame."  When  Mr.  Howland  asked  what 
he  would  say  to  the  native  Christians,  he  replied, 
"  Consecrate  everything-  that  is  yours  to  Christ,  and 
ask  nothing  in  prayer  which  you  will  not  devote  to 
him."  One  restless  night,  looking  at  the  watchers 
who  stood  about  him,  and  then  casting  his  eyes 
toward  the  open  window,  he  exclaimed,  '  Watch- 
men !  watchmen  !  what  of  the  night  ?  Souls  are 
perishing.'  And  so  this  venerable  servant  of  Christ, 
aged  almost  fourscore  and  two  years,  ceased  from 
his  labors,  and  has  no  doubt  entered  upon  renewed 
fellowship  with  Richards  and  Poor,  Scudder  and 
Winslow,  Meig-s  and  Sanders,  in  the  presence  of 
Him  who  saith,  'Well  done,  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vant, enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord.' 

"  Mrs.  Spaulding,  the  beloved  and  valued  com- 
panion of  fifty-four  years  of  toils,  trials,  and  joys, 
survives  at  Oodooville,  but  cannot  be  expected  to 
remain  long-  behind  her  departed  husband." 

The  forces  of  a  Christian  civilization  are  evidently 
Native  Evan-  gathering  on  this  field.     The  "  Jaffna  Na- 

gelical  Soci- 
ety, tive  Evangelical  Society  "  takes  the  place, 


CEYLON  MISSION.  361 

in  the  Jaffna  Christian  community,  of  our  large 
benevolent  Societies  at  home.  To  Christians  in 
Jaffna  its  meetings  have  all  the  interest  which  we 
find  in  those  of  the  American  Board,  and  they  make 
an  effort  to  attend  them.  "  I  wish,"  writes  a  mis- 
sionary, "  that  you  could  have  been  present  at  the 
annual  meetiug  held  lately  at  Batticotta.  It  was  an 
occasion  of  intense  interest.  The  missionaries  were 
merely  spectators,  taking  part  only  in  the  commun- 
ion service  in  the  afternoon.  The  Annual  Report, 
the  Report  of  the  Treasurer, —  stating  the  prospect 
of  a  <£40  debt  two  months  before,  and  the  circula- 
tion of  a  '  special  appeal '  to  the  churches,  as  the 
result  of  which  contributions  came  in,  till  finally,  on 
that  very  morning,  the  last  farthing  was  paid,  leav- 
ing one  pound  in  the  treasury ;  then  the  addresses, 
of  a  high  tone  of  spirituality,  and  urging  to  a  high 
standard  of  consecration,  were  exercises  such  as  we 
could  hardly  look  for  in  a  laud  like  this.  They  were 
equal  to  those  made  at  similar  gatherings  iu  Amer- 
ica. This  Society  is,  we  believe,  the  life  of  the 
church,  and  I  watcfi  its  prosperity  as  a  physician 
watches  the  pulse  of  his  patient." 

A  "  Board  of  Education  "  has  also  been  formed, 
consisting  of  ten  native  members  and  two  ABoardof 
missionaries.      Half    the   native    members 
have   no   connection  with   the  mission,  and  of  the 
vest,  five  are  ministers,  and  one  a  catechist.     The 
Government  now  grants  its  assistance  iu  such  a  way 


362  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

that  the  mission  can  accept  it,  and  sixty  schools, 
containing-  1,946  boys  and  685  girls,  were  connected 
in  1872  with  this  Board  of  Education.  The  Govern- 
ment defrays  about  four  sevenths  of  the  cost  of  the 
schools,  and  has  its  Director  with  his  assistants. 
The  Mission  has  its  Examiner,  who  makes  monthly 
visits  to  the  schools.  The  Oodooville  Girls'  Board- 
ing-school, under  charge  of  Mrs.  Spaulding  and 
Miss  Agnew,  both  venerable  for  age  and  long  ser- 
vice, had  fifty-three  pupils  in  1872,  and  such  spiritual 
blessings  were  granted,  that  sixteen  of  the  pupils 
united  with  the  church.  Nine  of  the  thirty  in  the 
Oodoopitty  Girls'  Boarding-school,  under  the  care 
of  Miss  Townshend,  were  members  of  the  church  in 
that  year. 

The  Native  College  in  Jaffna,  projected  in  1867, 
The  Jaffna  °^  which  the  preliminary  steps  were  de- 
scribed in  the  preceding  chapter,  was  com- 
menced on  the  first  of  July,  1872,  under  the  charge 
of  Mr.  Hastings.  Twenty-one  pupils  were  then 
admitted  to  the  first  class,  out  of  thirty  who  pre- 
sented themselves  for  examination.  A  fund  had 
been  collected  amounting  to  about  $20,000,  chiefly 
in  the  United  States.  The  first  term  closed  in  Oc- 
tober with  a  public  examination,  which  was  well 
sustained  by  the  pupils,  and  well  attended  by  their 
friends.  Some  who  came  to  criticize  remained  to 
praise,  confessing  that  they  had  not  anticipated  such 
results.     All  the  students,  except  one,  returned  at 


CEYLON  MISSION.  363 

the  opening  of  the  second  term.  Mr.  Hastings  re- 
garded himself  as  favored  in  his  two  native  asso- 
ciate teachers,  both  being  devoted  Christians,  and  in 
full  sympathy  with  his  desire  to  make  the  institu- 
tion a  real  aid  to  the  work  of  evangelization.  More 
recently,  a  special  religious  interest  pervaded  the 
institution,  aud  several  expressed  a  hope  that  they 
had  become  Christians.  Three,  who  had  beeu  bap- 
tized in  infancy,  were  received  to  the  church.  The 
Theological  Training  School  had  been  removed  to 
TillipaUy,  to  be  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Howland,  who 
had  gone  thither  to  make  way  for  the  new  pastor  of 
the  Batticotta  church. 

The  expectation  appears  to  be  entertained,  by 
those  most  competent  to  judge,  that  the  work  of 
this  mission  may,  before  very  long,  be  left  mainly  to 
the  superintendence  of  the  men  connected  with  the 
College  aud  the  Theological  Training  School. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

TAMIL   PEOPLE   ON   THE   CONTINENT. 
THE   MADURA    MISSION. 

1855-1862. 

The  discussions  of  the  Conference  had  given  more 
Effect  of  the    Practical  efficiency  to  the  work  of  this  mis- 

Conference.       gi(m         The    tmth  WRg    more    distmct]y  real_ 

ized  that  India  is  to  be  evangelized,  not  so  much  by 
missionaries  from  abroad,  as  by  men  raised  up  from 
among  the  people,  and  that  the  grand  effort  hence- 
forth should  be  in  that  direction. 

The  Seminary  was  to  have  in  charge  the  following 
The  semi-      grades  of  students  :  1.  Those  in  a  regular 

nary  studies.     CQUrse    Qf  g^^    from     four    tO     five     years, 

with  English  to  be  studied  only  as  a  classic.  2.  A 
class  of  older  persons  for  a  vernacular  course  of 
two  years.  3.  Men  employed  already  as  catechists, 
whose  limited  early  advantages  were  to  be  supple- 
mented by  a  year's  instruction  on  subjects  selected 
from  the  other  courses.  The  Seminary  was  to  be 
recruited  from  the  station  village  schools.  As  there 
had  been  a  steady  increase  in  Tamil  Christian  litera- 
ture, and  English  was  taught  only  as  a  classic,  there 


MADURA  MISSION.  365 

would  be  time  enough  for  the  needed  vernacular 
studies.  Students,  who  left  the  school  too  young* 
to  be  made  pastors,  were  sent  to  gain  experience  by 
teaching  village  schools,  and,  subsequently  to  the 
establishment  of  the  Normal  School  of  the  Ver- 
nacular Education  Society,  were  sent  for  a  year  or 
two  to  that  institution. 

The  village,  village  school,  aud  village  church  all 
needed  to  be  elevated  intellectually.    To  aid  „.  . 

J  Higher  Til- 

in  this,  the  Prudential  Committee,  in  the  lage  sch00ls 
year  1865,  authorized  the  establishment  of  a  small 
boarding-school  at  each  station  where  there  was  a 
resident  missionary,  to  be  called  the  Station  school. 
Each  school  was  allowed  an  appropriation  sufficient 
for  the  support  of  a  teacher  and  eight  pupils,  and 
as  many  pupils  might  be  added  as  the  missionary 
thought  best,  provided  he  could  secure  their  support 
from  his  personal  friends  in  India  and  at  home. 
The  school  might  be  for  boys,  or  for  girls,  or  for 
both.  The  aim  was  to  give  something  more  than 
an  elementary  education  to  lads  of  promise,  sons  of 
Christian  parents,  who  would  be  likely  to  remain  in 
their  native  districts  and  become  influential  in  the 
village  congregations  and  churches.  It  was  also 
desired  to  do  a  good  deal  more  than  had  been  doue 
to  create  intelligence  among  the  Christian  women, 
and  so  indirectly  to  aim  a  blow  at  one  of  the  main 
props  of  Hinduism  —  the  ignorance  of  the  Hindu 
women.     The  plan  was   cordially  approved   by  the 


366  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

mission,  and  such  schools  were  put  in  operation 
without  delay.  The  one  at  Tirupuvanam  was  made 
a  select  school  of  twenty  pupils,  and  in  its  special 
relations  to  the  theological  training  school  at  Pasu- 
malai  seemed  likely  to  solve  a  problem,  which  had 
long  perplexed  the  mission  ;  namely,  how  they  might 
be  enabled  to  devote  their  highest  educational  insti- 
tution exclusively  to  the  training  of  young  men  for 
spiritual  work. 

The  experiment  of  a  native  pastorate  in  the  mis- 
The  native  s^on  o^tes  f i*oni  1855.  A  promising  grad- 
pastorate.  uafa  from  the  Seminary  was  then  ordained 
as  pastor  at  Mallankinaru.  In  the  fifteen  years  fol- 
lowing, twelve  more  were  ordained.  Of  these,  up  to 
1872,  two  had  died  in  the  ministry,  leaving  behind 
a  precious  memory ;  two  had  left  the  ministry,  and 
three  had  changed  the  scene  of  their  labors.  Mean- 
while the  missionaries  had  come  to  feel,  not  only 
that  the  native  churches  should  have  the  choicest 
men,  but  that  a  native  pastor  was  essential  to  a 
native  church.  Additional  experience  showed,  also, 
that  a  disposition  for  self-support  was  essential  to 
the  prosperity  of  both  church  and  pastorate.  A 
congregation  in  the  western  part  of  Madura  called 
upon  the  mission,  iu  1868,  for  one  of  its  most  val- 
uable men,  offering  to  provide  one  fourth  of  his 
support,  and  holding  out  the  prospect  of  an  in- 
crease. The  request  was  granted  ;  and  the  mission 
subsequently  voted  not  to  ordain  a  pastor,  in  any 


MADURA  MISSION.  367 

case,  unless  there  should  be  a  guarantee  for  at  least 
that  proportion  of  his  support. 

In  the  year  1870,  the  mission  readjusted  its  sys- 
tem   of    education    to    the   new   order   of  gtiU  farther 

^.  tg     "i      „„   „r,     advances. 

things.     The  Seminary  was  modified,  so  as 
to  be  no  longer  a  school  for  secular  education,  but 
a  theological  school  for  the  purely  ministerial  edu- 
cation of  mature  and  experienced  men,  with  a  course 
of  two  or  three  years'  study.     The  students  were  to 
be  selected  from  approved  catechists,  who  were  to 
bring  their  families  with  them.     At  the  same  time 
the  Girls'  Boarding-school  at  Madura  was  transferred 
to  Pasumalai,  and  reorganized  as  a  female  seminary 
for  the  training  of  a  select  class  of  girls,  suitable  to 
become  wives  of  native   helpers.     Their   education 
was  to  keep  in  view  these  probable  future  relations, 
and,  so  far  as  was  practicable,  the  same  advantages 
of  instruction  were  to  be  given  to  the  wives  of  the 
catechists  mentioned  above,  as  to  the  members  of 
the  female  seminary.      In   this  the    mission    acted 
on    the   belief,  that  the  country  was  advancing  in 
o-eneral   intelligence,    and   needed   a    ministry    and 
churches  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  Gospel  spirit. 
General  education  was  to  be  left  to  the  local  board- 
ing-schools. 

The  result  has  been  all  that  could  have  been  rea- 
sonably expected.  The  number  of  native  pastors,  in 
1873,  was  fifteen.  Of  these  nine  had  taken  the  full 
Seminary  course,  four  the  shorter  course,  and  two 


368  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

were  educated  elsewhere.  Although  half  the  pas- 
torates are  of  not  more  than  four  years'  standing-, 
the  efforts  toward  a  native  ministry  have  had  en- 
couraging success.  The  west  church  in  Madura, 
already  mentioned,  increased  more  than  one  third 
in  five  years,  their  contributions  doubled,  they  paid 
the  larger  part  of  the  pastor's  salary,  their  prayer 
meetings  were  well  attended,  and  they  were  erecting 
a  brick  church.  The  church  at  Malankinaru,  whose 
first  pastor  —  the  first  in  the  mission  —  was  or- 
dained in  1855,  pays  more  than  half  the  salary  of 
its  present  pastor,  sustains  its  school,  has  built  a 
new  house  of  worship,  and  is  steadily  increasing  in 
numbers  and  in  the  grace  of  benevolence.  Of  one 
church  of  twenty-three  members,  the  pastor  re- 
ports that  all  the  members  have  daily  family  wor- 
ship. The  custom  of  giving  tenths  has  been  adopted 
by  all  the  pastors,  and  by  many  of  their  people. 
The  accessions  to  the  congregations  being  neces- 
sarily from  among  the  heathen,  the  pastors  are 
reported  as  active  in  securing  them.  One  was  in 
the  habit  of  taking  volunteers  from  his  church  on 
preaching  excursions  among  the  villages. 

Early  in  1873  the  churches  and  pastors  formed 
three  associations  for  a  more  convenient  perform- 
ance of  ecclesiastical  and  other  duties.  It  is  en- 
couraging that  the  churches  in  connection  with  the 
Native  Evangelical  Society  stand  pledged  for  the 
entire  salaries  of  the  pastors.     The  chief  obstacle 


MADURA  MISSION.  3G9 

in  the  way  of  ordaining  pastors  has  been  the  belief 
of  the  people,  that  a  eatechist  would  cost  them  less 
than  a  pastor.  But  pastors  are  more  and  more 
sought  for,  and  eight  were  ordained  in  the  space 
of  three  years.  Men  of  all  grades  of  education 
received  calls,  but  chiefly  those  of  the  highest  char- 
acter and  talent. 

Albert  Barnes,  after  an  experience  of  twenty-five 
years  as  a  teacher  of  the  Bible  and  theol-  a™™  <* 
ogy  in  the  Seminary,  was  ordained  pastor  to». 
of  the  church  at  Pasumalai  in  November,  1871,  a 
position  for  which  he  was  believed  to  be  eminently 
prepared.  In  March  of  the  following  year,  the 
churches  at  Battalagundu,  Dindigul,  and  Putney, 
each  received  pastors,  and  it  was  most  encouraging 
to  notice  how  appropriately  and  feelingly  the  native 
pastors  performed  their  parts  in  the  ordination  ser- 
vices. 

It  seemed  desirable  to  give  such  a  connected  view 
of  the  advance  in  the  general  character  of  the  work. 
Other  important  facts  will  now  be  mentioned. 

The  great  India  Rebellion  of  1857  and  1858,  did 
not  extend  to  the  Madras  Presidency,  and  Disturl)ing 

,  _.  .     influences. 

consequently  the  Madura  Mission  was  not 
materially  disturbed.     The  civil  war  in  the  United 
States,  some  years  later,  stimulated  the  production 
of  cotton,  and  so  increased  the  desire  for  gam,  the 
value  of  labor,  and  the  cost  of  living. 


■24 


370  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

The  number  of  regularly  organized  churches  in 
Native  1857  was  twenty-one,  having  deacons,  and 

churches.  meeting  statedly  for  religious  worship  and 
ordinances.  Only  two  native  pastors  had  then  been 
ordained.  Six  churches  were  formed  in  1856,  and 
six  in  the  following  year.  The  additions  by  pro- 
fession, in  one  of  these  years,  were  one  hundred 
and  seventy-one,  and  only  fifteen  had  been  excom- 
municated during  the  previous  seven  years.  Mem- 
bers were  received  with  caution,  and  their  conduct 
was  generally  good,  though  their  temptations  were 
many,  and  the  power  of  resistance  weak.  The  mis- 
sion had  confidence  in  regard  to  the  members  of  the 
church  generally,  that  they  would  be  owned  by 
Christ  as  lambs  of  his  fold. 

The  village  congregations  were  regarded  with  in- 
creased interest.     It   cost    much   labor  to 

Village  con- 
gregations.     m(|uce  them  to  break  away  from  idolatry, 

to  abstain  from  heathen  ceremonies,  to  observe  the 
Sabbath,  to  attend  stated  religious  worship,  and  to 
learn,  and  cause  their  children  to  learn,  the  great 
truths  of  Christianity.  But  they  were  helpful  to 
the  mission,  by  furnishing'  stated  places  for  preach- 
ing in  the  villages,  and  by  bringing  men  into  more 
favorable  position  for  impression,  conviction,  and 
conversion,  than  the  prejudiced  heathen  under  brah- 
minical  and  family  influence.  The  proportion  of 
church  members  in  the  congregations,  in  1853,  was 
one  to  thirteen  ;  in  1855  it  was  one  to  ten,  and  two 


MADURA  MISSION.  371 

years  later  nearly  oue  to  seven.  Mr.  Burnell,  for- 
merly the  printer  of  the  Ceylon  mission,  but  trans- 
ferred to  the  Madura  mission,  was  this  year  or- 
dained as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel. 

The   Tamil  people   possess  the  oriental  fondness 
for   poetry  and    music.     While   they  may  Native  fond- 

•  .  ii*  ness  for 

listen  impatiently  to  an  address  in  plain  poatiy. 
prose,  however  striking  and  important  the  matter, 
they  are  captivated  by  the  same  thoughts  in  metri- 
cal forms.  Mr.  Webb,  of  Dindigul,  had  given  much 
attention  to  this  subject,  and  compiled  a  book  of 
lyrics  in  Tamil  measure,  of  which  an  edition  of  two 
thousand  copies  was  printed,  and  other  editions  have 
followed.  Several  selections  of  the  most  popular  of 
these  lyrics  have  been  circulated  as  tracts.  It  has 
been  deemed  important  in  this  mission,  as  among 
the  Mahrattas,  to  give  special  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject of  Christian  poetry,  and  the  result,  in  the  de- 
velopment of  poetical  talent  among  the  natives,  has 
been  exceeding  gratifying.1 

1  A  translation  is  given  of  a  lyric,  said  to  be  the  composition  of  one 
of  the  native  pastors. 

CHORUS. 

Than  honey's  sweetness  sweeter  is  the  name  of  Jesus: 
Longing,  seeking,  running,  thou  wilt  come,  0  holy  Church ! 


1.  In  the  world,  with  love,  He  bore  distress, 
Removing  guilt,  He  put  away  the  curse : 
Feel,  0  my  soul ! 


372  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

The  last  edition  of  the  Lyrics,  edited  by  Mr. 
Washburn,  contains  three  hundred  pieces,  many  of 
them  of  great  beauty  and  poetical  merit,  by  more 
than  thirty  different  authors.  But  it  is  noticeable, 
in  this  book,  that  the  lyrics  were  written  almost 
wholly  by  natives,  only  two  missionaries  being  rep- 
resented. A  son  of  Dr.  Caldwell,  of  Tinnevelly,  has 
put  into  Tamil  metre  "  Rock  of  Ages,"  and  Mr. 
Webb,  "  Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea."  The  na- 
tives find  the  English  metres  at  variance  with  the 
genius  of  their  language,  and  unmanageable. 

2.  The  sinner  to  save,  His  life  He  gladly  gave, 
Full  as  the  sea,  His  everlasting  grace : 

Praise,  0  my  soul ! 

3.  Sovereign  Lord !    Most  glorious,  gracious  king ! 
For  favor,  seek  Him  with  a  willing  mind; 

Thou,  0  my  soul ! 

4.  As  the  dew  of  morning,  earth  shall  pass  away; 
To  all  eternity,  at  the  feet  of  God, 

Trust,  0  my  soul ! 

5.  Why  put  your  trust  in  relatives  and  friends ? 
Behold!  for  you  is  boundless  grace  with  Jesus: 

Joy,  0  my  soul ! 

6.  Help  in  trouble,  and  in  sorrow  joy,  He  gives; 

If  lovingly  you  go,  embracing,  He  will  keep  you : 
Long,  0  my  soul ! 

7.  The  Name,  by  earth  and  heaven  praised  and  sung, 
Only  take  hold  on  that,  and  heavenly  bliss 

Gain,  0  my  soul ! 


MADURA  MISSION.  373 

Messrs.  William  B.  Caprou  and  Charles  B.  White 
and  their  wives,  arrived  in  1857  ;  and  Mr.  Girls'  board- 

iiig-sehool 

and  Mrs.  Capron  took  charge  of  the  board-  at  uadon. 
ing-sehool  in  Madura  during-  Mrs.  Kendall's  absence 
in  America,  while  preparing-  to  occupy  their  ap- 
pointed station  at  Maua  Madura.  Au  extract  from 
a  letter  of  Mr.  Capron  concerning-  the  boarding- 
school,  will  be  read  with  interest :  — 

"  A  class  of  eight  pupils  graduated  on  the  28th  of 
March,  an   address   well    adapted    to   the   occasion 
beino-   delivered  by   the   principal   teacher.     These 
girls  are  all  members  of  the  church,  and  have  be- 
come very  much  endeared  to  us  by  their  correct  de- 
portment, and  by  the  pleasing  evidence  they  give 
that  they  are  truly  children  of  God.     They  go  back 
to  their  villages  with  a  heart  to  do  good,  and  we  are 
now  hearing   from   them    (May  11,  at  the   Pulney 
Hills)  by  occasional  notes,  of  their  attempts  to  ren- 
der themselves   useful.      Seven   of    the    eight   are 
teaching  school,  and  some  of  them  speak  of  spend- 
in  o-  their  leisure  in  teaching  the  women  of  the  vil- 
lage  congregations  to  read,  or  in  reading  to  them, 
and  holding  prayer-meetings  with  them.     One   of 
Mrs.  Capron's   proposals  to  them,  on  their  leaving 
school,  was  that  they  should  choose  some  spot  at 
home  for  secret  prayer,  and  that  on  every  Wednes- 
day afternoon  they  should  retire  there,  and  remem- 
ber  her,   and   each    other,  and   the   school,  at  the 
throne  of  grace.     They  remind  her,  in  every  note, 


374  3IISSI0NS  TO  INDIA. 

that  they  have  not  forgotten  and  will  not  forget 
their  pledge.  Some  of  these  girls  are  from  very 
poor  families,  and  one  of  them  could  not  think  of 
any  retired  spot  at  home  except  behind  the  door  of 
the  only  room  of  the  house ;  and  there,  no  doubt, 
she  daily  resorts  for  her  private  devotions. 

"  The  girls  have  shown  much  interest  in  every- 
thing they  have  heard  of  the  revival  in  America. 
They  often  pray  that  the  Lord  will  pour  out  his 
Spirit  here,  as  He  has  in  '  the  America  country ; ' 
and  they  will,  we  doubt  not,  enter  heartily  into  the 
plan  we  have  formed  for  the  coming  term,  of  a 
brief  noon  prayer-meeting,  to  pray  for  a  revival 
of  religion  among  them,  and  in  the  mission  gen- 
erally." 

The  mission  was  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  Rev. 
Reinforce-  Edward  Chester  and  wife,  and  Miss  Sarah 
Ashley,  in  1859  ;  and  by  the  return,  in  the 
same  year,  of  Mrs.  Kendall,  Mrs.  Noyes,  and  Mrs. 
Taylor,  from  their  visits  home;  and  by  the  arrival 
of  Rev.  George  T.  Washburn  and  wife,  in  1860,  and 
of  Rev.  David  C.  Scudder  and  wife,  in  1861.  Miss 
Ashley  was  married  to  Mr.  William  York,  Master  of 
the  Christian  and  Vernacular  Education  Society's 
school  at  Madura,  in  1864,  and  died  March  23, 
1872. 

The  following  are  mentioned  as  among  the  favor- 
Encouraging  ^e  indications  of  the  year  1860,  namely  : 
indications.    an  a(jvance   in  Scriptural   knowledge;   an 


MADURA   MISSION.  375 

improved  morality;  a  growing  regard  for  the  Sab- 
bath, and  for  the  law  of  marriage;  a  decrease  in 
the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks  ;  less  fondness  for 
going  to  law ;  greater  interest  in  improving  their 
houses  of  worship,  and  in  charitable  contributions ; 
a  greater  disposition  in  women  to  attend  church, 
and  to  study  Scripture  lessons;  and  an  increased 
desire  among  the  people  to  learn  to  read,  and  to 
have  their  children  educated. 

"  Old  Samuel,"  who  died  this  year  in  Mr.  Tay- 
lor's district,  deserves  a  passing  notice.  An  eccentric 
He  was  a  native  of  Tinuevelly,  and  in  his  ueiper. 
youth  a  priest  in  the  common  demon  worship  of  the 
country.  His  zeal  for  Christ  was  great  from  the 
time  of  his  conversion.  While  unfitted  by  his  ec- 
centricities for  the  duties  of  a  regular  catechist,  his 
unique  dramatic  power  in  exhibiting  the  absurdities 
of  the  common  superstitions,  and  his  manifest  integ- 
rity and  boldness,  fitted  him  for  evangelistic  labor 
among  the  heathen.  He  became  well  known  in  the 
greater  part  of  the  Madura  district,  and  somewhat 
in  the  Tinuevelly  and  Tanjore  districts.  Some  would 
say  that  he  was  deficient  in  good  sense ;  but  he 
knew  how  to  gather  and  hold  an  interested  audience 
in  a  heathen  village ;  and  while  he  made  them 
laugh  over  their  own  follies,  he  would  mingle,  all 
through  his  discourse,  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

It  will  readily  be  seen,  that  a  true  revival  among 
a   people  feeling   the  influence  of  the  caste-bound 


376  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

social  life  of  India,  is  an  event  of  special  progress. 
Extended  re-  Of  course,  with  the  limited  amount  of 
Scriptural  knowledge  possessed  by  the  peo- 
ple, such  powerful  spiritual  results,  as  are  often 
witnessed  where  the  Gospel  has  long  been  enjoyed, 
could  not  reasonably  be  expected.  But  the  close  of 
1860  and  the  early  part  of  1861  did  witness  a  spirit- 
ual awakening,  analagous  in  form  to  the  one  which 
resulted  in  evangelizing  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
though  far  less  powerful.  It  begun  in  the  north- 
western part  of  Tinnevelly,  occupied  by  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  bordering  on  the  Tirumaugalam 
station  district,  and  resulted  from  the  ordinary 
course  of  missionary  labors.  It  soon  began  to  have 
a  marked  effect  on  the  heathen.  A  member  of  the 
Church  mission  wrote,  in  November,  that  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  persons  had  forsaken  idolatry  in 
the  villages  of  his  own  station,  and  that  six  hun- 
dred had  taken  the  same  step  in  the  villages  of  an 
adjoining  station  ;  also,  that  twenty  persons  were 
travelling  in  all  parts  of  his  field,  holding  meetings 
and  preaching  the  Gospel  at  their  own  charge. 

Its  first  appearance  within  the  bounds^  of  the 
American  mission  was  at  Mallankinaru,  seventeen 
miles  south  of  Tirumangalam,  in  January,  1861. 
Mr.  Herrick  received  intelligence  in  that  month, 
which  led  him  to  visit  the  place;  and  he  saw  what 
reminded  him  more  of  American  revivals,  than  any- 
thing previously  seen  in  the  fifteen  years  of  his  mis- 


MADURA  MISSION.  377 

sionary  life.  Two  young  men  came  to  sneak  to 
him  in  private  of  their  sins,  and  asked  him  to  pray 
for  them.  Another  young  man  rose,  in  a  prayer- 
meeting-,  and  with  tears  requested  prayers.  A 
church  member,  who  had  been  the  first  fruit  of  the 
Gospel  in  that  place,  spoke  of  his  great  joy  on  a 
day  recently  spent  in  fasting  and  prayer.  On  a  sub- 
sequent visit,  Mr.  Herrick  saw  further  evidence  of  a 
genuine  work  of  grace.  Cases  of  disagreement  be- 
tween different  members  of  the  church  and  congre- 
gation, some  of  them  of  long  standing,  were  healed. 
A  series  of  meetings  was  held  to  pray  for  a  blessing 
on  the  new  year,  and  to  bring  the  Gospel  before 
those  not  accustomed  to  hear  it.  The  meetings 
were  in  the  open  air  in  front  of  the  church,  and 
under  the  light  of  the  full  moon  ;  and  here  the  first 
decisive  indications  of  the  revival  appeared.  Seven 
or  eight  women,  and  about  the  same  number  of 
men,  were  regarded  as  hopeful  converts. 

The  fact  is  not  unimportant  that  the  revival  com- 
menced at  Mallaukinaru  during  the  absence  of  the 
catechist,  and  among  people  of  a  different  caste 
from  the  subjects  of  the  revival  in  Tiunevelly.  At 
a  meeting  of  the  "  Sungkum,"  or  ministerial  asso- 
ciation, it  soon  appeared,  that  there  was  an  increase 
of  interest  in  nearly  all  that  part  of  the  field. 

Mr.  Tracy,  the  Principal  of  the  Seminary  at  Pasu- 
malai,  has  given  an  account  of  the  revival  Revival  at 

°  the  Semi- 

iu  that  institution,  under  date  of  May  27,  ™ry. 
1861.     He  thus  writes  :  — 


378  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

"  On  the  Sabbath  preceding  the  close  of  the  term, 
the  Lord's  Supper  was  administered,  three  of  the 
students  were  admitted  to  the  church,  and  several 
infants  were  baptized.  The  season  was  one  of  deep 
interest,  but  not  more  so  than  we  had  enjoyed  at 
other  times.  During-  family  worship  in  the  evening' 
I  heard  some  one  come  on  the  verandah  sobbing 
bitterly.  I  supposed  that  one  of  the  boys  had  been 
stung  by  a  scorpion,  not  an  uncommon  occurrence. 
When  we  rose  from  our  knees,  several  of  the  larger 
boys  came  forward  supporting  a  smaller  one  who  was 
trembling  and  crying  as  if  in  great  agony.  I  now 
felt  sure  that  my  first  supposition  was  correct,  but 
on  asking  the  lad,  he  replied,  '  My  sins,  oh  my  sins 
are  piercing  me  through,  I  cannot,  cannot  bear  it.' 
I  took  him  to  my  room,  prayed  with  him,  and  tried 
to  point  him  to  Christ,  but  he  could  not  be  com- 
forted. I  then  sent  him  back  to  the  Seminary  and 
requested  Mr.  Barnes,  our  oldest  teacher,  to  go  and 
see  if  he  could  lead  him  where  alone  he  could  find 
true  peace.  At  this  time  the  students  were  holding 
their  usual  Sabbath  evening  meeting.  Shortly  after- 
wards the  sound  of  loud  crying  and  prayer  reached 
us  from  the  Seminary,  and  in  a  few  moments  Mr. 
Barnes  returned,  awe-struck,  asking  me  to  come 
quickly,  for  he  knew  not  what  to  do.  On  reaching 
the  school  I  found  the  first-class  room  crowded  with 
the  students  and  catechists.  Some  were  on  their 
knees  with  outstretched  arms,  others  prostrate  on 


MADURA   MISSION.  379 

their  faces,  some  beating  their  breasts,  and  others 
still,  in  their  agony,  striking-  their  heads  against 
the  floor;  all,  with  lond  cries  and  tears,  confessing 
their  sins  and  praying"  for  pardon.  The  scene  was 
awe-inspiring. 

"  Fearing  the  effects  of  such  intense  excitement, 
I  had  some  removed  quietly  to  their  rooms,  and  this 
I  repeated  once  or  twice,  striving,  with  the  aid  of 
others,  to  direct  their  minds  to  the  blessed  Saviour. 
At  last  I  had  them  all  brought  together,  and  spent 
an  hour  in  prayer  and  singing,  but  it  was  well 
toward  midnight  before  I  could  leave  them  and 
return  home.  There  were  few  of  us  that  slept 
much  that  night.  Toward  morning  the  wife  of 
one  of  the  catechists,  who  had  been  anything  but  a 
praying  woman,  was  deeply  affected  with  a  sense  of 
her  sins,  and  her  cries  for  mercy  were  heard  in  the 
stillness  of  the  night  to  a  great  distance. 

"  On  Monday  an  attempt  was  made  at  study,  but 
it  was  impossible,  and  the  day  was  spent  in  prayer 
and  conversation  with  those  in  distress.  At  this 
time  probably  not  more  than  six  or  eight  among  all 
the  students  were  unaffected.  Many  continued  in 
deep  distress,  but  during-  the  day  some  found  peace 
through  faith  in  Christ.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Capron 
came,  and  we  commenced  a  prayer-meeting,  but  the 
excitement  soon  became  uncontrollable,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  stop  and  address  ourselves  to  individuals. 

"  Tuesday  was  spent  much  like  the  preceding  day. 


380  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

In  the  morning  I  cautioned  all,  with  good  effect, 
against  yielding  to  mere  excitement,  and  urged 
them  to  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  giving  way  to  their 
feelings.  They  tried,  but  some,  unable  to  restrain 
themselves,  quietly  left  the  room  or  were  removed, 
that  they  might  not  disturb  others.  The  attempt 
to  go  ou  with  the  regular  exercises  of  the  Seminary 
was  also  more  successful.  Mr.  Chester  was  with  us 
in  the  evening,  and  our  meeting  was  one  of  deep 
feeling,  but  of  less  excitement.  A  considerable  num- 
ber were  rejoicing  in  hope. 

"  On  Wednesday  the  seminary  committee  met  for 
the  usual  examination  at  the  close  of  the  term,  but 
they  could  not  go  on  with  it.  The  day  was  spent 
principally  in  religious  exercises,  and  the  students 
were  dismissed  to  their  homes,  with  earnest  prayer 
that  the  divine  blessing  might  go  with  them,  and 
make  them  the  means  of  good  to  the  community. 

"  I  had  felt  some  anxiety  lest  this  visit  to  their 
homes  should  lead  them  away  from  Christ ;  but 
the  reports  of  their  conduct,  which  I  heard  from 
various  quarters,  have  been  uniformly  favorable,  and 
I  rejoice  in  the  hope  that  a  truly  divine  work  has 
been  wrought  in  many  hearts.  It  deserves  notice 
that  the  pungent  distress,  rising  in  some  cases  to 
intense  agony,  did  not  in  one  instance  appear  to 
proceed  from  an  apprehension  of  personal  danger, 
but  from  a  deep  sense  of  the  evil  of  sin  committed 
against  a  holy  but  gracious  God  and  Saviour." 


MADURA  MISSION.  381 

The  girls'  boarding-school  at  Madura  was  affected 
in    a   similar   manner.       "Last   Thursday  Revival  in 

the  .Madura 

evening,"  wrote  Mr.  Kendall  on  the  4th  of  school. 
July,  "just  after  our  usual  weekly  prayer  meeting, 
I  was  told  that  the  girls  in  the  school  had  been 
weeping  for  a  long  time,  and,  with  Miss  Ashley,  I 
hastened  over  to  ascertain  the  cause.  We  found 
them  on  their  knees  in  the  greatest  excitement.  It 
was  similar  to  the  state  of  things  in  the  Pasumalai 
Seminary  just  before  the  end  of  the  last  term.  God 
prospered  our  endeavor  to  quiet  them,  and  we  then 
conversed  and  prayed  with  them.  Since  that  time 
a  number  have  come  frequently  to  one  of  us  for 
conversation   and   prayer." 

Passing  to  the  western  side  of  the  Madura  Dis- 
trict, we  find  evidences  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  Revival  i>, 

J        L  m  the  Western 

special  presence  in  the  villages  of  Periacu-  Strict. 
lam,  the  station  of  Mr.  Noyes.  The  annual  meeting 
of  the  North  Local  Committee  was  held  in  that 
place,  when  the  native  assistants  of  Puluey,  Dindi- 
gul,  Battalagundu,  and  Periaculam  came  together 
for  examination  and  mutual  conference.  The  at- 
tendance was  full,  and  the  devotional  meetings, 
morning  and  evening,  at  pastor  Seymour's  church 
in  the  village,  were  particularly  interesting.  Mr. 
Taylor  was  surprised  at  the  earnestness  of  some  of 
the  native  brethren,  and  deeply  affected  by  their 
fervent  prayers  and  exhortations.  There  was  a 
readiness  to  take  part  in  the  exercises,  and  an  unc- 


382  MISSIONS  TO   INDIA. 

tion  in  them,  such  as  he  had  never  before  witnessed 
among  the  native  Christians.  He  felt  that  the  Lord 
was  with  them  of  a  truth,  and  his  heart  was  warmed, 
and  his  hopes  in  relation  to  the  village  work  were 
much  encouraged.  A  work  of  grace  had  already 
begun  in  a  small  congregation  in  a  remote  part  of 
this  district,  and  the  presence  of  a  few  native 
brethren  from  that  vicinity  added  much  to  the  in- 
terest of  the  meetings. 

This  small  congregation  consisted  of  eight  fami- 
lies, numbering  thirty-two  persons,  who  were  of 
three  different  castes.  The  revival  was  confined 
chiefly  to  young  women,  of  whom  only  one  could 
read.  Soon  after  the  opening"  of  the  meeting,  they 
began  singing  of  their  own  accord,  in  a  very  earn- 
est manner  but  harmoniously,  hymns  in  Tamil  me- 
tre, expressive  of  penitence  for  sin  and  trust  in  the 
Redeemer.  They  continued  singing  one  hymn  after 
another  for  twenty  minutes,  and  as  they  sang  they 
rose  upon  their  knees  and  wept  freely.  During 
prayer,  also,  and  while  the  Scriptures  were  read  and 
explained,  they  showed  much  feeling.  The  male 
members  of  the  congregation  were  present,  and 
seemed  deeply  interested,  while  the  heathen  about 
the  doors  and  windows  looked  on  with  amazement. 
There  was  no  confusion  or  disorder,  but  the  scene 
was  intensely  affecting. 

Other  interesting  meetings  are  on  record.  The 
mission  reported  the  additions  to  the  churches  on 


MADURA  MTSSIOX.  383 

profession  as  seventy-six  in  1860,  and  ninety-four  in 
1861. 

Periaculam,  where  Mr.  Scudder  was  stationed,  is 
one  of  the  most  populous  and  influential  villages  of 
the  Madura  District.  In  this  village  was  a  church, 
one  of  the  few  which  had  a  native  pastor.  The 
congregation,  of  more  than  one  hundred,  had  been 
sadly  divided  by  a  protracted  litigation  between  the 
two  deacons.  The  quarrel  spread  until  every  mem- 
ber of  the  congregation  was  arrayed  on  the  one  side 
or  the  other,  and  Pastor  Seymour  said  he  alone  was 
left  between.  When  Mr.  Scudder  arrived  the  case 
had  been  decided  in  court,  and  one  of  the  deacons 
had  been  excommunicated  and  expressed  penitence, 
but  the  hostile  feeling  required  time  to  subside. 
The  enterprising  young  missionary  was  putting 
matters  in  train  for  a  reformation,  and  was  Death  of  Mr 
exciting  expectations  of  uncommon  useful-  Scuddur 
ness,  when,  before  the  expiration  of  his  first  year, 
on  the  19th  of  November,  1862,  he  was  removed 
by  a  sudden  and  unexpected  death,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-seven.  He  had  been  to  Audipatti,  one  of  his 
more  important  outstatious,  eleven  miles  southeast, 
to  see  a  sick  catechist,  and  on  returning  found  the 
Vaigai  river,  which  he  was  obliged  to  cross,  swollen 
with  recent  raius.  Being  a  good  swimmer,  and  hav- 
ing previously  swam  the  stream  at  the  same  point, 
he  did  not  hesitate  now.  But  he  had  miscalculated 
both  his  own  strength  aud  the  force  of  the  torrent. 


384  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

As  soon  as  he  approached  the  middle  of  the  river 
he  was  borne  away  by  the  current,  and,  in  sight  of 
one  of  his  catechists,  was  swept  down  the  stream 
for  a  long-  distance,  and  suddenly  overwhelmed  by 
the  flood.  This  was  on  Wednesday.  His  body  was 
found  on  the  following  Sabbath  at  Solavanthan, 
thirty  miles  below,  and  thirteen  miles  above  Ma- 
dura. Mr.  Scudder  was  buried  at  the  Sanitarium 
on  the  Pulney  Hills,  overlooking  his  field.  During 
the  few  months  of  his  missionary  life  he  had  been 
most  genial  in  his  intercourse  with  his  associates, 
most  diligent  in  his  application  to  study,  and  most 
earnest  and  zealous  in  his  efforts  to  promote  the 
cause  of  Christ  at  his  station. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

TAMIL   PEOPLE    ON   THE    CONTINENT. 
THE   MADURA   MISSION. 

1862-1873. 

The  hold  of  idolatry  had  evidently  hecome  loos- 
ened on  many  of  the  people.  Numbers  Evidences  of 
confessed  their  distrust  of  it,  and  the  mis-  idolatry. 
sionary  felt  a  perceptible  difference  when  he  went  to 
villages  where  no  Christian  labor  had  been  per- 
formed. The  waning  power  of  superstition  was 
seen  in  the  fact,  that  very  few  new  temples  were 
erected,  while  many  were  falling  into  decay.  In 
some  of  the  districts  visited  there  was  increasing 
difficulty  at  the  festivals  in  drawing  the  idol  car. 
Many  said  it  was  not  their  concern,  but  that  the 
brahmins  might  draw  it  themselves  if  they  chose, 
and  this  was  openly  attributed  to  a  diffusion  of 
Christian  truth.  At  a  festival  not  far  from  Pasuina- 
lai,  the  manager  repeatedly  requested  the  students 
to  withdraw  from  the  vicinity  of  the  car,  as  the 
distribution  of  books  and  conversations  with  the 
people  diminished  their  zeal.     More  than  twice  the 

2b 


386  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

usual  time  was  consumed  in  bringing  the  car  to  its 
accustomed  place,  and  it  was  not  accomplished  with- 
out hiring  men  from  the  village.  The  manager  had 
proposed  a  reduction  in  the  size  of  the  car,  that  it 
might  be  drawn  more  easily,  but  the  brahmins  had 
refused. 

To  the  same  purport  was  a  feud  reported  by  Mr. 
Tracy  in  his  neighborhood,  between  a  manager  and 
the  brahmins  of  the  temples  under  his  superinten- 
dence. He  had  filled  many  of  the  responsible  offices 
with  persons  of  another  caste,  had  represented  the 
brahmins  as  untrustworthy,  and  on  one  occasion 
described  them,  in  the  presence  of  seminary  teach- 
ers, as  interlopers,  with  no  right  to  perform  the 
religious  ceremonies  of  the  temples,  which  properly 
belonged  to  priests  chosen  from  the  other  high 
castes. 

As  another  sign  of  the  times,  Mr.  Tracy  speaks 
of  the  shanars,  from  which  caste  many  of  the  Tin- 
nevelly  Christians  came,  as  much  excited  in  regard 
to  their  religious  privileges,  particularly  that  of 
going  into  the  temples  as  far  as  the  higher  castes 
were  allowed  to  go.  They  had  often  expended  con- 
siderable sums  in  enlarging  and  beautifying  these 
temples,  in  some  cases  also  building  temples,  into 
which,  or  sections  of  which,  they  were  not  allowed 
to  enter  as  worshippers,  though  open  even  to  the 
despised  pariahs.  They  claimed  the  right  of  going 
where  any  person  of  good  caste  might  go,  and  the 


MADURA   MISSION.  387 

manager  seemed  inclined  to  yield  to  their  claim,  as 
a  matter  of  simple  justice.  But  the  brahmins  de- 
cidedly opposed  any  such  innovation.  The  shanars 
were  bent  on  carrying1  their  point,  and  threatened, 
if  they  did  not,  to  throw  the  brahmins  overboard 
and  set  up  for  themselves,  or  go  over  in  a  body  to 
Christianity. 

"  The  introduction  of  railroads  and  telegraphic 
wires,"  writes  a  missionary  in  186i,  "  the  recent 
general  introduction  of  Government  English  schools 
with  English  science  and  literature,  even  though 
the  Bible  is  not  introduced  therewith,  and  the  gen- 
eral introduction  of  English  law  into  all  the  courts 
of  the  country,  are  bringing  new  ideas  among  the 
people  of  India  unfavorable  to  the  continuance  of 
the  old  idolatry.  The  infidelity,  which  so  often 
marks  the  transition  period  in  the  belief  of  a  people, 
is  increasing." 

Mr.  Washburn,  in  approaching  Pulney,  situated 
in  the  extreme   northwest  of  the  Madura  „ 

One  of  the 

District,  describes  what  he  regarded  as  one  ^1 "," p" 
of  the  grand  supports  of  idolatry,  and  one  '  ° atry' 
of  the  chief  obstacles  to  the  reception  of  Gospel 
truth.  He  says  :  "  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  brah- 
mins have  secured  the  choicest  lands.  All  this  wav- 
ing1 cultivation,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  over  the 
plain,  is  the  property  of  that  stone  image,  whose 
temple  is  yonder  on  the  rock;  or,  to  speak  more 
plainly,  of  its  priestly  attendants.     AVere   I  asked, 


388  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

what  are  now  the  chief  supports  of  Hindu  idolatry, 
I  would  reply,  the  lauded  wealth  of  the  temple,  and 
the  pecuniary  interest  of  certain  non-official  por- 
tions of  the  community.  Pulney  is  a  sacred  town 
in  the  eyes  of  all  the  Hindus  of  South  India.  It 
abounds  in  the  most  costly  temples,  rest-houses,  and 
edifices  for  entertaining  pilgrims.  Many  of  them 
are  of  hewn  granite;  each  capable  of  accommodat- 
ing hundreds  of  the  pilgrims,  which  yearly  fill  the 
town.  The  pious  among  the  residents  have  learned 
to  augment  their  gains  and  their  merits  at  once,  by 
erecting  these  spacious  structures  for  the  purpose 
of  encouraging  pilgrimages." 

The  mission  had  become  impressed  with  the  value 
An  itinerant  °^  ^***erawi  labors,  as  a  means  of  helping 
ministry.  Qn  ^^  change  iii  the  ideas  of  the  people ; 
and  at  the  annual  meeting  in  May,  1863,  divided 
the  missionaries  and  their  native  helpers  into  com- 
panies, who  should  each  take  their  turn  for  three 
weeks  in  such  labors. 

One  of  the  earliest  itineracies  was  performed  by 
Messrs.  Noyes  and  Washburn,  with  native  helpers, 
iu  the  villages  of  Periaculam.  The  missionary  tent 
was  accessible  to  all  from  ten  in  the  morning-  to  four 
in  the  afternoon,  and  here  they  conversed  with  not 
a  few  influential  persons.  They  also  preached  to 
large  numbers  on  the  encampment  ground.  In  one 
village  of  nine  hundred  houses,  it  was  found  that 
three  hundred  of  the  honses  belonged  to  brahmins, 


MADURA  MISSION.  389 

and  that  they  were  generally  rich  land-owners,  and 
lived  by  agriculture  and  not  hy  their  priestly  office. 
They  were  more  accessible  and  open  to"  conviction, 
than  the  same  class  in  the  cities. 

During-  a  vacation  in  the  Pasumalai  Seminary, 
Mr.  Tracy  itinerated,  with  Mr.  Chester  and  several 
catechists  and  teachers.  They  went  in  four  com- 
panies, ranging  mornings  and  afternoons  within 
five  miles  of  their  encampment,  and  at  noon  held  a 
meeting  in  their  tent.  In  the  evenings  they  went 
together,  and  held  meetings  by  moonlight  in  some 
of  the  near  villages.  Heavy  rains  compelled  them 
to  return,  after  three  days,  to  Dindigul.  They  had 
visited  forty  villages,  held  about  fifty  meetings, 
preached  to  nearly  two  thousand  persons,  sold  a  con- 
siderable number  of  books  and  tracts,  and  were 
much  encouraged  by  their  reception  among  the 
people. 

Mr.  Kendall,  writing  in  April,  1864,  says  that,  in 
company  with  Mr.  Burnell,  he  visited  sixty-seven 
villages  connected  with  his  Madura  station,  and  ad- 
dressed more  than  four  thousand  people.  The  cate- 
chists took  much  interest  in  this  kind  of  work,  and 
rendered  cheerful  and  efficient  aid.  In  the  same 
year,  Mr.  Burnell  spent  twenty  days  with  native 
helpers,  in  a  preaching  tour;  had  seven  encamp- 
ments, visited  one  hundred  and  forty-five  villages, 
and  addressed  over  seven  thousand  persons.  Also, 
in  the  same  year,  Messrs.  Taylor  and  Washburn  vis- 


390  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

ited  fifty-six  villages  in  the  Mandapasalai  field,  the 
most  southern  in  the  Madura  District,  and  were 
favorably  impressed.  Afterwards  Messrs.  Washburn 
and  Noyes  visited  more  than  two  hundred  villages  in 
the  Battalagundu  district,  designing  to  make  a 
thorough  exploration  of  all  parts  not  easily  reached 
by  the  catechists  of  the  village  congregations. 
They  addressed  more  than  six  thousand  persons, 
carefully  mapped  out  the  field,  and  took  notes  for 
future  use. 

In  1865,  Mr.  Washburn  described  a  tour  made 
by  himself  and  Mr.  Rendall  to  one  hundred  and 
two  villages  in  his  own  Battalagundu  district,  and 
sixty -two  in  that  of  Madura;  the  audiences  amount- 
ing to  nine  thousand  people.  "  It  was  a  time  of 
hard  work,  but  one  very  much  enjoyed  by  all.  In 
some  encampments,  the  catechists  were  obliged  to 
walk  long  distances,  with  little  rest  till  late  at 
night,  but  they  always  did  it  cheerfully.  I  was  par- 
ticularly, pleased  in  noticing  the  skill  they  had  ac- 
quired in  addressing  large  and  turbulent  crowds,  in 
the  village  streets.  I  can  see  a  great  improvement 
in  this  respect  within  three  years.  I  doubt  whether 
American  ministers. would  evince  more  skill,  either 
in  managing  an  audience,  or  exhibiting  religious 
truth.  We  sold  also  between  four  and  five  hun- 
dred tracts,  school-books,  and  Scripture  portions." 

A  letter  from  Mr.  Chester  of  Dindigul,  gives  an 
account  of  interesting  labors  in   the  itineracy,  be- 


MADURA   MISSION.  391 

tween  the  1st  of  March  and  the  4th  of  May.  He 
was  assisted  by  the  catechists  of  his  station,  a  na- 
tive pastor,  a  colporter  of  the  Madras  Bible  Soci- 
ety, teachers  in  the  mission  seminary,  and  others, 
and  says :  "  We  have  had  eleven  encampments,  have 
worked  twenty-nine  days,  visited  four  hundred  and 
fourteen  villages,  and  held  four  hundred  and  ninety 
meetings,  addressing*  17,439  adult  hearers,  and  sell- 
ing sixty-eight  rupees'  worth  of  Scripture  portions, 
tracts,  and  books."  They  went  out  in  three  and 
four  companies  from  their  encampments,  with  usu- 
ally three  catechists  in  each  company,  aiming  to 
visit  every  village  within  six  miles  of  the  camping- 
ground.  They  had,  in  nearly  all  cases,  most  atten- 
tive and  respectful  audiences,  with  nothing  like 
abuse.  Mr.  Chester  speaks  very  highly  of  the  na- 
tive helpers,  who  labored  very  hard,  but  were  con- 
stantly cheerful  and  earnest,  and  most  happy  when 
they  had  most  to  do,  and  met  with  most  success. 
The  meetings  were  "  precious  seasons."  During  all 
this  time  Mr.  Chester  was  often  at  his  dispensary, 
performing  there  the  work  of  three  or  four  days  in 
one,  prescribing*  sometimes  for  as  many  as  ninety 
persons  in  a  single  day.  He  had  had  1,478  patients, 
nine  hundred  and  six  of  them  new  cases,  since  the 
first  of  January.  "  This  medical  work,"  he  says, 
"  pays,  with  all  its  toil,"  giving  the  missionary  favor 
with  all  classes  of  people  in  the  many  villages  of  the 
station. 


392  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

The  report  of  the  mission  for  I860,  speaks  of  the 
itinerating  work  as  prosecuted  with  more  than  the 
usual  interest.  There  were  forty-five  encampments, 
with  preaching  in  1,209  villages.  The  number  of 
adult  hearers  exceeded  fifty-nine  thousand ;  and  the 
impression  was  deepened  by  the  tracts  distributed, 
and  the  books  sold.  The  visitation  in  the  following 
year,  was  to  thirteen  hundred  villages,  and  more 
than  57,000  persons  heard  the  truths  of  the  Gospel. 

The  itineracy  had  now  become  a  specific  depart- 
ment of  missionary  labor.  A  sufficient  number  of 
tents  had  been  procured ;  every  missionary  was  ex- 
pected to  itinerate  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period, 
with  a  corps  of  native  helpers ;  and  the  work  was 
generally  found  to  be  a  source  of  much  enjoyment 
to  the  native  brethren.  Mr.  Capron,  after  a  satis- 
factory exploration  from  Mana  Madura  eastward  to 
the  sea,  while  he  speaks  of  itinerating  as  hard  work, 
says  the  helpers  returned  inspirited,  and  the  more 
they  were  out  in  the  field,  the  more  contented  and 
happy  they  appeared  to  be. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Lord  had  been  transferred  to  this 
Accessions  to  mission  from  Ceylon,  in  1863.  Messrs. 
the  mission    Thornton  B  Penfiek|  and  Hervey  C.  Hazen, 

and    their  wives,  joined  the   mission   in    1867    and 

1868.  Dr.  Henry  K.  Palmer   and  wife  joined    in 

1869.  The  Misses  Rosella  A.  Smith,  Martha  S. 
Taylor,  Sarah  Pollock,  Carrie  Hartley,  Mary  E.  Ken- 
dall, and  Elizabeth  Sisson,  joined  during  the  six 
years  following  1866. 


MADURA   MISSION.  393 

At  the  close  of  1867,  there  were  one  hundred  and 
sixty-two  village  congregations,  and  there  Amount  of 
were  known  to  be  Christians  residing-  in  influence, 
two  hundred  and  fifty-five  villages.  Religious  ser- 
vices were  held  in  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  of 
these  places,  with  preaching  once  or  twice  every 
Sabbath.  During  that  year,  the  missionaries  vis- 
ited eight  hundred  villages,  and  travelled  in  their 
missionary  tours  nearly  ten  thousand  miles.  The 
catechists  visited  a  much  larger  number,  and  the 
Gospel  was  preached  at  least  once,  during  the  year, 
to  150,000  people. 

The  station  day  school  at  Dindigul  was  reported 
to  contain  thirty-four  brahmins  and  a  mini-  Interesting 
ber  of  Mohammedan  boys  from  respectable  8chools- 
families.  Of  the  station  boarding-schools  for  girls 
at  Man  a  Madura  it  is  said  :  "  There  can  be  no  more 
hopeful  field  for  labor  than  such  a  school,  and  it  is 
Mrs.  Capron's  privilege  to  have  strength  and  time 
to  devote  to  it.  Probably  there  is  not  a  happier 
company,  of  the  same  size,  in  the  Madura  District ; 
interested  in  their  studies,  cheerful  in  doing  their 
daily  task  of  work,  and  entering  into  play  with  a 
good  deal  more  than  usual  zest.  It  has  been  spe- 
cially gratifying  to  observe  the  attention  of  the  pu- 
pils to  religious  instruction."  The  Madura  board- 
ing-school for  girls,  under  the  superintendence  of 
Mrs.  Chandler,  aided  by  Miss  Smith,  having  been 
thirty  years  in  operation,  more  than  three  hundred 


394  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

girls  had  enjoyed  its  privileges,  and  man)'  had  died 
in  the  faith,  and  many  were  wives  or  mothers  of  the 
mission  helpers. 

Dr.  Chester  preached  the  Gospel  during  the  year 
The  medical    to  nearly  seven  thousand  patients,  and  half 

branch  of 

the  mission,  as  many  more  of  their  friends,  who  had 
accompanied  them.  Dr.  Cheeseman,  the  native  med- 
ical assistant  at  Madura,  treated  nearly  three  thou- 
sand patients. 

Mrs.  Kendall,  beloved  by  all,  finished  her  faithful 
Death  of        service  for  Christ  in  India,  and  died,  after 

Mrs.  Reu- 

dan.  a  very   brief   illness,    September  4,    1867, 

while  on  her  way  home  with  her  husband  ;  and  her 
body  found  its  final  resting-  place  in  the  Mediter- 
DeathofDr.  ranean  Sea.  A  few  months  later,  on  the 
Lord-  24th  of  January,  1868,  Dr.  Lord,  having 

come  to  the  United  States  greatly  prostrated,  died 
at  New  York.  The  reader  will  remember  him  in 
connection  with  both  the  Ceylon  and  Madura  mis- 
sions. He  suffered  much  from  illness,  but  gave  the 
strongest  evidence  of  devotion  to  the  cause.  When 
apprised  that  death  was  near,  he  expressed  his  will- 
ingness to  go,  and  calmly  yielded  his  life  in  the 
forty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

And  here  I  may  record  also  the  death  of  the  Rev. 
Death  and      Horace  S.  Taylor,  February  3,  1871,  at  the 

character  of 

Mr.  Taylor,  age  or  utty-six,  after  twenty-seven  years  of 
laborious  and  most  faithful  service.  Excepting  Dr. 
Tracy,  he  was  the  oldest  member  of  the  mission, 


MADURA  MISSION.  395 

having  arrived  in  October,  1844.  No  other  member 
bad  the  privilege  of  collecting  so  many  congrega- 
tions, and  of  receiving  so  many  converts  to  the 
church.  At  the  Mandapasalai  station,  he  gathered 
about  eighteen  hundred  from  the  heathen  into 
Christian  congregations,  and  nearly  three  hundred 
of  these  became  members  of  the  church.  He  or- 
ganized nine  village  churches,  some  of  them  perhaps 
prematurely  ;  but  he  looked  forward  to  the  time 
when  they  would  be  supplied  with  native  pastors. 
His  mind  was  active,  vigorous,  independent,  and  fer- 
tile in  resources,  so  that  he  was  a  suggestive  and 
valued  correspondent.  "  He  had  a  decidedly  meta- 
physical turn  of  mind,"  wrote  Mr.  Capron  when  an- 
nouncing his  death,  "  which  was  conspicuous  in  his 
writings.  But  I  take  more  pleasure  in  remember- 
ing, that  he  was  an  humble,  patient,  prayerful  la- 
borer in  the  vineyard.  He  was  a  man  who  lived 
near  to  Christ  by  prayer  and  the  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures ;  as  all  could  see,  who  listened  to  his  prayers, 
or  his  discourses,  his  remarks  in  social  meetings,  or 
his  conversations  with  the  heathen.  He  was  par- 
ticularly happy  in  his  occasional  expositions  of 
Scripture,  in  his  addresses  at  the  communion  table, 
and  in  the  expression  of  sympathy  and  counsel  in 
time  of  sorrow.  I  have  never  heard  addresses, 
which  I  would  more  gladly  reproduce,  than  some  of 
his  to  our  missionary  circle,  as  we  sat  together  at 
the  table  of  our  Lord."     Says  Mr.  Kendall,  "  His 


396  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

simple  faith  always  made  him  confident  and  buoy- 
ant, even  in  dark  days.  His  memory  in  this  respect 
will  be  very  precious  to  us  all.  During-  my  eighteen 
years  in  Madura,  I  presume  I  received  nearly  a  hun- 
dred notes  from  him  every  year,  and  I  never  re- 
ceived one  in  which  he  showed  the  least  depression 
of  spirit,  or  the  slightest  indication  of  discourage- 
ment." 

Mr.  Taylor  was  beloved  by  his  people.  His  death 
occurred  at  the  sanitarium  on  the  Pulney  Hills ;  and 
Mr.  Herrick,  as  he  went  to  Mandapasalai  to  give 
the  people  notice  of  the  event,  saw  abundant  evi- 
dence of  their  warm  attachment  to  their  mission- 
ary. Stopping*  a  moment  to  inform  a  small  Chris- 
tian congregation,  which  had  been  under  Mr. 
Taylor's  care,  a  poor  widow  exclaimed,  weeping-,  "  I 
have  no  father  left."  Four  miles  from  the  station, 
he  met  a  woman,  weeping,  who  had  been  there,  and 
had  heard  of  the  death  of  her  missionary. 

The  social  life  of  India  cannot  be  elevated  with- 
out the  cooperation  of  native  women,  and 

Prospective  x  ' 

iTadve1106  °f  ^ia*  cooperation  cannot  be  expected,  to 
any  great  extent,  among  the  middle  and 
higher  classes,  until  husbands,  fathers,  and  brothers 
become  impressed  with  the  value  of  education  to 
their  wives,  daughters,  and  sisters.  There  is  now  a 
considerable  and  increasing  number  of  women  who 
have  been  educated  in  the  mission  schools,  and  the 
reports  concerning  them  augur  well  for  the  future. 


MADURA  MISSION.  397 

Mrs.  Capron,  at  Mana  Madura,  in  1868,  had  gath- 
ered into  her  school  some  large  girls  and  women, 
and  had  prospered  in  her  efforts  to  induce  them  to 
embrace  the  truth  themselves,  and  labor  for  the 
good  of  others.  Believing  that  some  of  them  could 
speak  Gospel  truth  intelligently,  she  sent  them  out, 
two  and  two,  to  talk  with  their  heathen  sisters, 
going  herself  with  the  least  experienced  party. 
Their  reports  were  sometimes  of  willing  listeners, 
sometimes  of  scoffers.  "  I  have  been  much  inter- 
ested," she  says,  "  to  see  how  much  more  the  things 
said  by  my  native  companions  seemed  to  strike  the 
mind,  and  give  hope  of  a  permanent  impression, 
than  my  own  words.  In  one  case,  a  young  girl, 
after  I  had  spoken  at  some  length  of  the  need  of  a 
Saviour's  death,  and  met  with  only  a  respectful  as- 
sent, immediately  went  over  the  same  ground,  and 
adding  here  and  there  an  apt  illustration  from  na- 
tive customs,  that  I  never  should  have  thought  of, 
won  the  closest  attention,  and  did,  I  trust,  some 
lasting  good.  I  have  also  been  struck  with  the 
keenness  of  their  satire  on  idol  worship  ;  and  on  one 
occasion  the  emphatic  declaration,  '  And  such  were 
we,  but  we  are  made  clean  by  Jesus'  blood  and  are 
going  to  heaven,'  was  thrilling."  The  idea  among 
the  native  women,  that  young  women  had  come  to 
them  from  America,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  benefit- 
ing them,  was  of  itself  a  power  for  good.  Miss 
Pollock,  writing  from  Mandapasalai,  says :  "  Every- 


398  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

where  I  have  been  welcome.  Everywhere  I  have 
found  some  willing"  listeners  to  the  truth.  The 
people  have  readily  fallen  in  with  the  idea  of  my 
working  with  the  women  alone.  When  I  visit  a 
place,  although  the  men  usually  come  to  see  me  for 
a  few  minutes,  and  pay  their  respects,  whenever  I 
tell  them  I  am  ready  to  begin  my  talk  with  the 
women  they  quickly  withdraw,  and  leave  us  to  our- 
selves. I  am  treated  with  perfect  respect."  Bible 
women  were  accustomed  to  go  from  Pasumalai  to 
the  near  villages,  and  were  usually  accompanied  by 
two  or  three  women  of  the  catechist  families,  who 
were  thus  initiated  into  the  work.  The  native  fes- 
tivals offered  good  opportunities,  as  at  least  half 
who  attended  them  were  women.  The  people  mani- 
fested some  surprise,  but  no  displeasure,  at  seeing 
Christian  women  selling  books  and  talking  with 
women  and  girls,  and  remarked,  that  there  must  be 
some  earnestness  among  the  Christians  to  spread 
their  views. 

Mr.  Washburn  was  put  in  charge  of  the  seminary 
The  semi-  in  1870.  Mr.  Tracy  was  then  in  America 
high  school,  for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  and  on  his 
return  assumed  the  care  of  the  station  and  high 
school  at  Tirupuvanam. 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Rendall  has  been  mentioned. 
.    .  .  The  only  companion  of  her  husband,  on  his 

A  missionary  J  i 

daughter.  return  to  India,  was  his  daughter  Mary. 
Speaking  of  a  tour  he  subsequently  made  with  her, 


MADURA  MISSION.  399 

in  the  neighborhood  of  Periakulam,  he  says :  "  My 
daughter  was  with  me,  and  I  never  knew  women  in 
India  more  interested  in  listening-  to  the  truth,  than 
some  of  the  audiences  she  met  in  that  tour.  Sev- 
eral women  were  induced  to  learn  to  read,  and 
many,  both  Christians  and  heathen,  showed  great 
affection  for  her,  and  interest  in  listening  to  the 
story  of  Christ.  Once  she  addressed  fifty  women, 
all  assembled  in  one  courtyard,  and  there  would 
have  been  many  more  had  there  been  room.  An  old 
woman  said,  at  the  close  of  the  meeting,  that  in  her 
heart  she  often  prayed  to  the  true  God,  though  she 
did  not  know  who  or  where  He  was ;  but  hereafter 
she  would  pray  to  Jesus,  as  He  must  be  the  true 
God,  and  she  had  heard  of  his  love  to  them. 

Mr.  Rendall's  closing  paragraph  will  not  fail  to 
interest  the  reader  :  "  While  engaged  in  this  work, 
one  day  was  given  up  for  the  ordination  of  catechist 
Isaac  over  the  church  at  Kambam.  The  occasion 
was  a  memorable  one  for  that  church.  The  church- 
members,  and  all  the  congregation,  are  united  in 
their  pastor,  and  I  was  much  pleased  to  notice  the 
progress  made  by  this  people  in  order  and  knowl- 
edge during  the  seven  months  Isaac  had  been  with 
them.  Forty-three  Christian  women  were  at  a  meet- 
ing conducted  by  my  daughter,  and  more  than  half 
of  them  were  well  prepared  in  advanced  Bible  les- 
sons. The  pastor's  wife  had  been  most  active  in 
instructing  the  women,  and  had  proved   herself  a 


400  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

real  helpmeet  to  her  husband  in  his  work.  A  num- 
ber of  the  younger  women  were  anxious  to  learn  to 
read,  and  they  will  without  doubt  redeem  the  pledge 
they  gave  in  this  matter,  as  this  faithful  woman  will 
be  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season  in  teaching 
them.  The  Kambam  church  has  a  good  plan  for  pro- 
moting benevolence,  and  for  reaching  their  heathen 
neighbors.  They  will  give  half  of  their  pastor's 
salary  at  once,  and  I  hope  the  time  is  not  far  distant 
when  they  will  give  the  whole.  We  returned  from 
our  tour  greatly  encouraged,  and  with  the  full  assur- 
ance that  God's  name  will  be  glorified  throughout 
that  station  in  the  conversion  of  many  souls." 

Mr.  Taylor  g-ives  an  impressive  view  of  the  field 
of  labor  that  is  opening  to  women. 

"  I  will  give  no  details  of  the  work  of  the  young 
The  fieia  for  Klu<ies,  f°r  i^  1S  their  part  to  write  for  them- 
selves, but  having  the  station  in  charge, 
and  opportunities  for  knowing-,  it  is  proper  that  I 
should  note  some  of  the  results  as  they  are  manifest 
to  me,  and  particularly  the  indirect  influence  of  such 
labors  on  the  men. 

"  First,  I  notice  that  the  ladies  have  no  difficulty 
in  gathering  audiences.  They  gather  these  audi- 
ences of  women  and  children  in  private  houses,  or, 
where  we  have  them,  in  our  little  churches  and 
school-houses,  and  those  as  large  perhaps  as  I  could 
gather  among  the  men.  Nor  have  I  observed  any 
special  difficulty  in  making  the  object  of  the  mission 


MADURA    MISSION.  401 

of  young  ladies  here  to  be  understood,  and  the  sim- 
ple fact  that  they  leave  home  and  friends  to  come 
here,  and  go  from  village  to  village  and  from  house 
to  house  to  look  after  the  women  and  children, 
starts  the  feeling  that  there  must  be  a  reality  iu  the 
religion  they  teach. 

"  I  observe  two  particulars,  in  which  they  seem  to 
have  some  special  advantage.  One  is,  that  their 
presentation  of  the  Gospel  can  be  more  immediate, 
direct,  and  quiet  than  ours.  There  is  a  class  of  men 
who  will  take  the  defensive  if  met  by  me,  and  be  glad 
of  the  chance  for  a  discussion,  who  will  not  do  this, 
if  the  truth  comes  from  a  woman.  The  peculiarly 
humble  character  of  these  agents  (in  their  estima- 
tion) does  not  stir  their  pride,  and  the  acknowledged 
benevolence  of  their  work  also  further  disarms  op- 
position. 

"  The  other  advantage  is,  that  their  work  is  an 
attack  upon  the  weak  side  of  the  heathenism  of  this 
country.  The  Christian  woman  comes  to  her  with 
the  announcement  that  she  also  has  a  soul.  She  is 
told  that  there  is  a  Saviour  and  a  heaven  for  her, 
and  the  good  news  of  the  Gospel  is  unfolded.  The 
missionary  of  their  own  sex  approaches  no  guarded 
foe,  but  the  unarmed,  yet  sensitive,  women  of  Hin- 
duism. Unrestricted  she  enters  the  heart  of  the 
household,  and  can  there  touch  the  most  vital 
springs  of  life,  and,  with  the  Saviour's  blessing, 
awaken  desires  not  easily  eradicated. 


402  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

"When  the  women  are  thus  moved,  the  men  can- 
not remain  as  they  were.  Women  here  are  indeed 
uneducated,  but  they  are  not  uninflueutial.  They 
will  not,  simply  because  they  are  women,  conceal 
what  they  have  thus  learned  from  one  of  their  own 
sex.  Their  facile  tongues  tell  to  eager  ears,  around 
and  outside,  what  they  have  learned  within  doors. 
Thus  the  whole  community  is  influenced  by  this 
humble  attack  upon  its  idolatry.  The  effect  upon 
the  men  of  this  work  among  the  women,  is  like 
that  of  a  strong-  division  in  a  battle  coming  unex- 
pectedly upon  the  enemy's  rear.  The  men  are 
taken  unawares,  and  there  is  such  a  subduing  of 
tone  as  does  not  always  follow  when  they  meet  us 
preaching  in  their  streets." 

The  Rev.  Thornton  B.  Penfield  died  at  Pasumalai 
Death  of  Mr  011  ^e  19th  of  August,  1871,  at  the  age  of 
Penfieid.  thirty-six.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the 
mission  less  than  four  years  and  a  half.  Mr.  Wash- 
burn says :  "  His  death  was  a  triumph  of  faith, 
cloudless  as  the  sunshine  that  glowed  about  him." 

Associated  power  is  a  characteristic  of  evangelical 
relig-ion,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  its 

Native  asso-  a  '  ' 

cations.  gradual  introduction  is  one  of  the  inter- 
esting features  of  the  mission.  The  "  Madura  Na- 
tive Evangelical  Society  "  was  formed  about  twenty 
years  ago.  In  its  first  few  years  it  supported  cate- 
chists,  but  became  at  length  an  auxiliary  to  the 
churches  in  the  support  of  their  pastors,  and  might 


MADURA  MISSION.  403 

be  more  appropriately  called  the  "  Madura  Home 
Missionary  Society."  It  is  understood  that  this 
society,  in  connection  with  the  churches,  will  pay 
the  salaries  of  all  the  native  pastors.  Its  income 
in  1859  was  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  rupees ;  in 
1867  it  was  five  hundred  and  sixty-five  rupees ;  and 
ill  1872  it  was  nine  hundred  and  sixty-five  rupees. 
Its  importance  is  felt  throughout  all  the  congrega- 
tions. Money  is  regularly  and  cheerfully  paid  to  it ; 
even  the  poor  in  remote  villages  sending  in  their 
mites. 

Another  native  institution  is  the  "  Madura  Wid- 
ows' Aid  Society,"  designed  to  extend  pecuniary  aid 
to  the  widows  and  children  of  its  deceased  mem- 
bers. Each  member  pays  an  entrance  fee  and  a 
monthly  subscription.  Its  income  in  1869  was  nine 
hundred  rupees,  its  members  were  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five,  and  the  amount  of  its  funds  was  4,477 
rupees. 

Our  history  closes  with  1873,  the  fortieth  year 
from  the  commencement  of  the  mission.  D 

nummary 

It  then  numbered  eleven  stations,  one  Tiew 
hundred  and  forty-two  outstations  or  village  congre- 
gations, eleven  missionaries,  one  physician,  fifteen 
female  assistant  missionaries,  sixteen  native  pastors, 
one  hundred  and  five  catechists,  twelve  readers,  six 
seminary  and  boarding-school  teachers,  eighty-five 
school-masters,  and  twenty-three  school  mistresses ; 
total  number  of  pupils  in  the  schools,  2,672. 


404  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

Of  churches  there  were  thirty-one,  to  which  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  members  were  added  by 
profession  during"  the  year.  The  number  of  mem- 
bers received  from  the  beginning  had  been  2,479, 
of  whom  1,633  were  living  and  in  good  standing. 
Of  the  7,393  in  the  village  congregations,  2,150 
were  men,  2,020  were  women,  and  3,223  children. 

"  There  seems  to  be  but  one  opinion,"  says  the 
Decline  of  report  of  the  mission  for  1872,  "as  to  the 
heathenism,  decreasing  influence  of  heathenism.  With 
the  exception  of  an  expensive  building  within  the 
temple  at  Madura,  we  hear  of  no  erection  of  any 
new  temple.  A  respectable  native,  who  has  charge 
of  the  accounts  of  the  temple  in  Madura,  stated, 
of  his  own  knowledge,  that  the  prestige  and  reve- 
nues of  that  temple,  the  most  famous  in  Southern 
India,  were  continually  decreasing,  while  Chris- 
tianity, he  said,  was  on  the  increase,  and  must  ulti- 
mately prevail  throughout  the  country.  Another 
native  gentleman,  who  has  the  management  of  the 
temple  funds  in  Tirupuvanam,  informed  us,  a  short 
time  ago,  that  the  temple  officials  had  to  buy  the 
necessaries  for  their  worship  in  the  bazaar,  from 
day  to  day,  on  account  of  the  poverty  of  the  tem- 
ple. In  another  temple,  where  formerly  two  or  three 
hundred  sheep  were  annually  sacrificed  at  the  prin- 
cipal festival,  now  only  one  or  two  are  offered.  In 
several  other  places  in  the  same  neighborhood,  festi- 
vals formerly  celebrated  have  been  given  up.     These 


MADURA  MISSION.  405 

eases  are  mentioned  as  evidence  of  the  gradual 
decay  of  heathenism  in  this  District,  and  the  same 
is  probably  true  of  the  country  at  large.  Heathen- 
ism is  not  dead,  and  will  not  die  easily,  but  it  seems 
evident  that  the  Lord  is  preparing  the  way  for  the 
redemption  of  the  millions  of  India.  The  Brahmist 
movement,  which  for  a  while  seemed  so  hopeful  in 
its  tendency  towards  Christianity,  appears  now  to 
have  reached  its  climax,  and  to  be  receding  towards 
Hinduism." 

"  Seeing  the  changes  God  has  wrought  in  these 
forty  years  by  his  blessing  on  continued  labors," 
says  the  mission  in  its  last  Report,  "we  are  en- 
couraged to  go  forward  hopefully,  trustfully  waiting, 
and  expecting  the  salvation  of  the  whole  District." 


MISSIONARIES. 


MISSIONAEIES.1 


When  ho  date  occurs  on  the  right  hand  column,  it  is  because  the 
missionary  is  still  connected  with  the  field. 

When  the  date  of  the  wife's  arrival  in  the  field  precedes  that  of  the 
husband,  the  explanation  is,  that  the  wife  had  been  connected  with 
the  mission  as  a  teacher  previous  to  marriage. 

The  asterisk  (*)  placed  before  a  name,  denotes  that  the  person  is 
deceased.  When  placed  before  a  date,  in  the  right  hand  column,  it 
denotes  that  the  person  died  at  the  time  there  indicated,  and  in  the  field. 

It  should  be  specially  noted,  that  the  table  is  designed  to  state  only 
the  time  of  a  missionary's  residence  in  the  field.  Absences  for  health, 
if  of  no  long  duration,  are  not  noted. 

I.     MISSION   TO   THE   MAHRATTAS. 


Ordained 
Missionaries. 


♦Gordon  Hall  . 
♦Samuel  Nott  . 
*Sa,uiuel  Newell 


♦Horatio  Bardwell,  D.D 
*Johu  Nichols  .     .     . 
*Allen  Graves  .     .     . 
♦Edmund  Frost     .     . 


Wives  of  Missionaries. 


*Mrs.  Margaret  Lewis  Hall 
Mrs.  Roxaua  P.  Nott  .     . 


*Mrs.  Harriet  Newell  .     . 
*Mrs.  Philomela  Newell   . 
[afterwards  Mrs.  Garrett] 


Mrs.  Rachel  Bardwell 


Mrs.  Elizabeth  Nichols     . 

Mrs.  Mary  Graves    .     .     . 

[See  Ceylon  and  Madura 
Missions] 

Mrs.  Clarissa  Frost  [after- 
wards, successively,  Mrs. 
Woodward  and  Mrs. 
Todd] 


Time  op 

Enterlng. 


Feb.  11,  1818. 
Dec.  19,  1816. 
Feb.  11,  1813. 
Feb.  11,  1813. 
March  7,  1814. 

Died  at  Sea, 
Feb.  23, 1818. 

Nov.  1,1816- 
Nov.  1,  1816. 
Feb.  23,  1818. 
Feb.  23,  1818. 
Feb.  23,  1818. 
Feb.  23,  1818. 
June  28, 1824. 

June  28,  1824. 


Time  of 
Leaving. 


*Mar.  20, 1826. 
July  30,  L826. 
Sept.  7,  1815. 

Sept.  7.  181;'). 
♦May  3n,  L821. 
Nov.  80,  1^22. 
Oct.  29,  1836. 

Jan.  22, 1821. 
•Ian.  22,  1821. 
*Dec.  9,  1824. 
Oct.  19.  1826. 
*Dee.  30,  1843. 
*Mar.  23,  1806. 
*Oct.  18, 1825. 

♦June  1, 1837. 


»  This  table  was  compiled  by  the  Rev.  John  A.  Vinton,  of  Winchester,  Mass. 


410  MISSIONARIES. 

MISSION   TO    THE   MAHRATTAS.  —  Continued. 


Ordained 

Missionaries. 


♦David  01iverAllen,D.D. 


*Cyrus  Stone 


♦William  Hervey  . 
William  Ramsey  . 
Hollis  Read  .  .  . 
George  W.  Boggs  . 
*Sendol  B.  Munger 


Amos  Abbott 


♦Henry  Ballantine 
♦Ebenezer  Burgess 


*Ozro  French  .  .  . 
♦Robert  W.  Hume  . 
Royal  G.  Wilder  .  , 
Samuel  B.  Fairbank 


Allen  Hazen,  D.  D. 
William  Wood  .     . 


George  Bowen  .     .     . 
Lemuel  Bissell,  D.  D. 


William  P.  Barker 
Samuel  C.  Dean  . 
Charles  Harding   . 


Wives  op  Missionaries. 


Time  of 
Entering. 


Nov.  27, 1827. 
Nov.  27,18^7. 
Sept.  10,  1834. 


♦Mrs.  Myra  W.  Allen  .     . 

♦Mrs.  Orpah  Allen  [former- 
ly Miss  Graves] 

♦Mrs.  Azubah  0.  Allen  [for-JDec.  12,  1843 
merly  Miss  Coudit  of  the 
Borneo  Mission] 


♦Mrs.  Atossa  Stone 
Mrs.  Abigail  K.  Stone  . 


♦Mrs.  Elizabeth  H.  Hervey 
Mrs.  Mary  Ramsey  .  .  . 
Mrs.  CaroUne  Read  .     .     . 


Mrs.  Isabella  W.  Boggs    . 

♦Mrs.  Maria  L.  Munger  . 
♦Mrs.  Mary  E  Munger  . 
Mrs.  Sarah  S.  C.  Munger 


Ileury  James  Bruce 


[Second  residence]   .     .      . 
Mrs.  Anstress  Abbott  . 
[Second  residence]   .     .     . 

♦Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ballantine 

♦Mrs.  Mary  Burgess     .     . 
Mrs.  Abigail  Burgess 


Mrs.  Jane  H.  French  . 
Mrs    Haunah  D.  Hume 


Mrs.  Eliza  J.  Wilder 


♦Mrs.  Abbie  A.  Fairbank 
Mrs.  Mary  Fairbank    .     . 


Mrs.  Martha  R.  Hazen 


♦Mrs.  Lucy  Maria  Wood 
♦Mrs.  Eliza  W.  Wood  . 
Mrs.  Eliza  Maria  Wood 


Mrs.  Mary  Elizabeth  Biseell 
♦Mrs.  Lucelia  U.  Barker  . 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  A.  Dean    . 


♦Mrs.  Julia  M.  Harding    . 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  D.  Harding 

Mrs.  Hephzibah  P.  Bruce 


Dec.  29, 1827. 
Dec.  29,  1827. 
Sept.  10,  1834. 
March  7, 1831. 
March  7, 1831. 
March  7, 1831. 
March  7,  1831 
March  7,  1831 
March  7,  1831 
Sept.  14, 1832. 
Sept.  14,  1882. 
Sept.  10, 1834. 
Sept.  10, 1834. 
Nov.  17,  1854. 
March  3,  1803 
Oct.  15,  1834. 
Sept.  15,  1857. 
Oct.  15,  1834. 
Sept.  18,  1857. 
Oct.  11, 1835. 
Oct.  11,  1835. 
Aug.  10,  1839. 
Aug.  10,  1839. 
Feb.  27,  1847. 
Aug.  10,  1839. 
Aug.  10,  1839. 
Aug.  10, 1839. 
Aug.  10,  1839. 
Sept.  20, 1846. 
Sept.  20,  1846. 
Sept.  20, 1846. 
Sept.  20,  1846. 
Jan.  12,  1857. 
Feb.  27,  1847. 
Feb.  27,  1847. 
Jan.  19,1848. 
Jan.  19,  1848. 
Jan.  12,  1857. 
Aug.  3,  1865. 
Jan.  19, 1848. 
Aug.  27,  1851. 
Aug.  27,  1851. 
Dec.  15,  1853. 
Dec.  15, 1853. 
Jan.  12.  1857. 
Jan.  12,  1857. 
Jan.  12, 1857. 
Jan.  12,  1857. 
Januarv,  1870. 
March  3,  1863 
March  3, 1863. 


Time  op 
Leaving. 


1852. 
♦Feb.  5,  1832. 
♦June  5,  1842. 

♦June  11, 1844. 


June  20, 1838. 
♦Aug.  7,  1833. 
June  20,  1838. 
♦May  13, 1832. 
♦May  3,  1831. 
July  5, 1834. 
♦June  11. 1834. 
Mar.  18, 1835. 
Mar.  18, 1835. 
Bee.  29,  1838. 
Dec.  29,  1838. 
♦July  23,  1868. 
♦Mar.  12,  1846. 
♦June  3,  1856. 
Sept.  24,  1868. 
July  29,  1847. 
March,  1809. 
July  29,  1847. 
March,  1869. 
Nov.  9,  1865. 
Dec.  1,  1865. 

1854. 
♦June  24, 1842. 
♦April  26. 1853. 
July  19.  1849. 
July  19.  1849. 
♦Sept.  20, 1854. 
Sept.  20, 1854. 

1857. 

1857. 

♦Aug.  21,1852. 


♦Aug.  13,1851. 

♦Nov.  18, 1859. 

Oct.  30, 1855. 


1869. 
♦Jan.  27, 1864. 
1867. 
1867. 

♦Feb.  11, 1867. 


MISSIONARIES.  411 

MISSION  TO  THE  MAHRATTAS.  —  Continued. 


Ordained 
Missionaries. 


Ileury  W.  Ballautine 
♦William  W.  Chapin 
Wm.  Henry  Atkinson 
Spencer  K.  Wells  .  . 
Charles  W.  Park  .  . 
Uiehard  Winsor    .    . 


Wives  op  Missionaries. 


Mrs.  Mary  E.  Ballantiue  . 
Mrs.  Catharine  I.  Chapin 
Mrs.  Calista  Atkinson  .  . 
Mrs.  Mary  Wells      .     .     . 


Mrs.  Anna  Maria  Park 
Mrs.  Mary  C.  Winsor  . 


Assistant  Missionaries. 
*James  Garrett 


♦William  C.  Sampson 
George  W.  Hubbard  . 
Elijah  A.  Webster     . 


♦Mrs.  Philomela  Garrett  . 
[formerly  Mrs.  Newell] 


Mrs.  Mary  L.  Sampson 
Mrs.  Emma  Ilubbard  . 


Mrs.  Marietta  Webster 
*Miss  Cynthia  Farrar  . 
Miss  Arpah  Graves  .  . 
Miss  Azubah  Condit  . 
Miss  Harriet  S.  Ashley 


Time  of 
Entering. 


Time  of 
Leaving. 


March  3,  1863.  April  80,  1865 
March  8,1863.  April  3u,  1865 
May  19,  1S64 


May  ly,  lb04. 
Deo.  18,  1807. 
Dec.  18,  1867. 
Nov.  13,  1809. 
Nov.  13,  1869. 
Sept.  16,  1870. 
Sept.  10,  1870. 
June  22,  1S71. 
June  22,  1871. 


May  9,  1821. 
Feb.  23,  1818. 

Nov.  22,  1833. 
Xov.  22,  1833. 
Sept.  10, 1834. 
Sept.  10,  1834. 
Oct.  11,  1835. 
Oct.  11,  1835. 
Dec.  29,  1827. 
April  10, 1834. 
Dec.  12,  1843. 
Dec.  14,  1871. 


•Mar.  22,  1866. 
Dec.  1,  1805. 


July  16,  1831. 
Oct.  29,  1831. 

♦Dec.  22, 1S35. 
June,  1836. 
June  20,  1837. 
Juue  20,  1837. 

1842. 

1842. 
*Jan.  25,  1S02. 
♦June  5,  1842. 
June  11,  1844. 


II.    MISSION  TO  CEYLON. 


♦James  Richards 


♦Edward  Warren  . 
♦BeDJamin  C.  Meigs 

*Daniel  Poor,  D.  D. 


♦Miron  Winslow,  D.  D. 
♦Levi  Spaulding,  D.  D. 
♦Henry  Woodward    . 


♦John  Scudder,  M.  D. 


♦Mrs.  Sarah  Richards  .     . 


Mrs.  Sarah  Maria  Meigs  . 
[See  Madura  Mission]  .  . 
♦Mrs.  Susan  Poor  .  .  . 
Mrs.  Ann  K.  Poor  .  .  . 
[See  Madras  Mission]  .  . 
♦Mrs.  Harriot  L.  Winslow 


Mrs.  Mary  L.  Spaulding  . 

♦Mrs.  Lydia  Woodward    . 

♦Mrs.  Clarissa  Woodward 
[formerly  Mrs.  Frost, 
afterwards  Mrs.  Todd] 

[See  Madura  Mission] 

♦Mrs.  Harriet  Scudder 
[See  Madras  Mission] 


October,  1816. 
October,  1816. 
Oct.  15,  1816. 
Oct.  2,  1816. 
Oct.  2,  1816. 
Oct.  15,  1816. 
Oct.  15,  1816. 
Jan.  21,  1823. 
Feb.  IS,  1820. 
Feb.  18,  1820. 
F.-b.  is,  1S20. 
Feb.  IS,  1820. 
Feb.  3,  1820. 
Feb.  3,  1820. 
Oct.  12,  1826. 


Dec.  17,  1819. 
Dec.  17,  1819. 


♦Aug.  3, 1822. 
Sept.  17. 1823. 
♦Aug.  11,  1818. 
October,  1857. 
Jan.  16,  1840. 
♦Feb.  3,  1855. 
•May  7,  1821. 
October,  1835. 
♦Oct.  22,  1864. 
Man.  14,  1833. 
♦June  18, 1873. 

•Ang.  8, 18.34. 
•Nov.  24, 1825. 

♦June  1, 1837. 


Sept.  21, 1836. 
Sept.  21, 1836. 


412  MISSIONARIES. 

MISSION  TO   CEYLON.  — Continued. 


Ordained 

Missionaries. 


•George  Henry  Apthorp 
William  Todd  .     .     . 
Henry  It.  Hoisington 
Samuel  Hutchings     . 

James  Read  Eckard  . 

*John  M.  S.  Perry     . 
•Samuel  G.  Whittelsey 
Edward  Cope    .     .     . 
John  Curtis  Smith    . 


♦Robert  Wyman  .  . 
Adin  II.  Fletcher  .  . 
William  W.  Howland 
William  W.  Scudder  . 
Eurotas  P.  Hastings  . 
Joseph  T.  Noyes  .  . 
Cyrus  T.  Mills .  .  . 
♦Marshall  D.  Sanders 

•Nathan  L.  Lord,  M.D, 
Milan  H.  Hitchcock  . 
James  Quick  .  .  . 
James  A.  Bates  .  . 
William  E.  Be  Riemer 
Thomas  S.  Smith  .  . 
Samuel  W.  Howland 


Wives  of  Missionaries. 


*Mrs.  Mary  Apthorp  . 
[See  Madura  Mission]  . 
*Mrs.  Lucy  Todd  .  . 
[See  Madura  Mission]  . 
Airs.  Naucy  Hoisington 
[See  Madras  Mission]  . 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  C.  Ilutchings 

[See  Madras  Mission] 
At  Madura,  1833-1837      . 
Returned  to  Ceylon     .     . 
Mrs.  Margaret  E.  Lckard 
Returned  to  Ceylon      .     . 

•Mrs.  Harriet  J.  Perry 

Mrs.  Anna  C.  Whittelsey 
[See  Madura  Mission]  .  . 
Mrs.  Emily  K.  Cope     .     . 

•Mrs.  Eunice  T.  Smith    . 
•Mrs.    Mary    Smith    [for- 
merly Mrs.  John  Steele] 
[See  Madura  Missiou] 


Mrs.  Martha  E.  Wyman  . 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  W.  Fletcher 

Mrs.  Susan  R.  Howland  . 
[See  Arcot  Mission]  .  . 
*Mrs.  Catharine  E.  Scudder 

Mrs.  Anne  C.  Hastings     • 
[See  Madura  Mission]  . 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  A.  Noyes  . 


Mrs.  Susan  L.  Mills 


*Mrs.  Georgiana  Sanders 
Mrs.  Caroline  Z.  Sanders  . 
[See  Madura  Mission]  .  . 
Mrs.  Laura  W.  Lord  .  . 
[See  Mission  to  Armenians] 
Mrs.  Lucy  A.  Hitchcock  . 


Mrs.  Maria  E.  Quick  .  . 
Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Bates  .  . 
Mrs.  Emily  F.  Be  Riemer 
Mrs.  Emily  M.  Smith  .  . 
Mrs.  E.  R.  Howland    .     . 


Time  op 

Entering. 


Oct.  28,  1833. 
Oct.  28,  1833. 
Oct.  '2.8,  lbt>3. 
Oct.  28,  1833. 
Oct.  28,  1833. 
Oct.  28,  1833. 
Oct.  28,  1&33. 
Oct.  28,  1833. 

March  5, 1834. 

183 1". 
March  5,  LSJ1. 

1837. 
Sept.  24, 1835. 
Sept.  24,  1&35. 
April  1,  1^42. 
April  1,  1842. 
January,  1840. 
lauuary,  1840. 
April  1,  1842. 
April  1,  1842. 
October,  1843. 


April  1,  1842. 
April  1,  1842. 
June  1,  1840. 
June  1,  1840. 
May,  1840. 
May,  1840. 
April,  1847. 
April,  1847. 
April,  1&47. 
Oct.  10,  1853. 
March  0,  1849. 
March  0,  1849. 
March  1,  1849. 
March  1,  1849. 
March  12, 1853 
March  12,  1852. 
July  4,  1871. 
June  9,  1853. 
June  9,  1853. 
April  28,  1858. 
April  28,  1858. 
April  30,  1858. 
April  30,  1858. 
April  21,  1861. 
April  21,  1801. 
March  16,1809. 
March  10, lSG9. 
July  4,  1871. 
July  4,1871. 

1873. 

1873. 


Time  of 
Leaving. 


*June  8, 1845. 
*Sept.  3, 1849. 
July  21,  1834. 
July  21,  1834. 
March  5,  i860. 
March  5,  i860. 
April,  1842. 
April,  1842. 

Feb.  9, 1835. 

Sept.,  1843. 
Feb.,  1835. 
Sept. ,  1843. 
*Mar.  13,  1837. 
*Mar.  13, 1837. 
•Mar.  lu,  1847. 
1848. 
April,  1849. 
April,  1849. 
Maj  15,  1873. 
•May  9, 1842. 
May  15  1873. 


•Jan.  13, 1845. 
Bee.  27,  1844. 

1850. 

1850. 


1852. 
*Mar.  11, 1849. 


1853. 

1S53. 
Sept.,  1853. 
Sept.,  1853. 
•Aug.  29, 1871. 
•Nov.  2,  1808. 
October,  1871. 
May,  1858. 
May,  1858. 
Autumn,  1860. 
Autumn,  1800. 
Nov.  27,  180S. 
Nov.  27,  1S08. 
October,  1803. 
October,  1863. 


MISSIONARIES. 
MISSION  TO   CEYLON.  —  Continued. 


413 


Missionary  Physicians. 


♦Nathan  Ward,  M.  D. 
Samuel  F.  Green,  M.  D. 


Mrs.  Ilannah  \V.  Ward 


Mrs.  Margaret  P.  Green 


Assistant  Missionaries. 


Time  of 
entering, 


TlMK   OP 

Leaving. 


Eastman  S.  Minor 
Thomas  S.  Burnell 


•  Mrs.  Lucy  B.  Minor  .     . 
Mrs.  Juuitli  M.  Minor 
[See  Madura  Mission]  .     . 
Mrs.  Martha  Buruell    .     . 
Miss  Eliza  Agnew     .    .     . 
Miss  Sarah  F.  Brown  .     . 
•Miss  Jane  K.  Lathrop     . 
[afterwards  Mrs.  Cherry] 
Mary  Auu  Capeil   [after- 
wards -Mrs-  Muzzy] 
Miss  Harriet  E.  lowusend 
Miss  Hester  A.  llillis    .     . 
Miss  Susan  14.  llowland  . 


Oct.  28, 1333. 
Oct.  '-8,  1888. 
October,  1817. 
October,  1802. 


March  6,  1834 
Match  5,1834. 

Jan.   1,  1840. 

Feb.  27,  L849. 
Feb.  27,  1849. 
Jau.  27,  1840. 
Jan.  27,  1840. 
Jan.  27, 1840. 

May,  1846. 

Dec.  18, 1867. 
May,  1870. 

1873. 


1847. 
1847. 


Spring,  1851. 
•June  •-'■'.  1837. 
Spring,  1851. 
Autumn,  1855. 

Autumn,  1855. 

August.  1-41- 

June,  1840. 

Feb.  1, 1S48. 


III.    MADURA  MISSION. 


Ordained 
Missionaries. 


William  Todd 


Ilenry  R.  Iloisington 
James  14.  Eckard  .    . 


Alanson  C.  Hall  .  . 
♦John  Jay  Lawrence 
♦Daniel  Poor,  D.  D.   . 


Wives  of  Missionaries. 


*Mrs.  Lucy  Todd    .     •     . 
*Mrs.  Clarissa  Todd     .     . 

[formerly  Mrs.  Frost  and 

Mrs.  Woodward] 
[See  Ceylon  Mission]     .     . 
[See  Ceylon  Mission]    .    . 
Mrs.  Margaret  E.  Eckard 


Time  of 
Entering. 


♦Robert  0.  Dwight 
Henry  Cherry  .    . 

Edward  Cope    .     . 
Nathaniel  M.  Crane 


'Mrs.  Frances  A.  Hall 

Mrs    Mary  II.  Lawrence  . 

[See  Ceylon  Mission]    .  • 

Mrs.  Ann  Poor    .     .      .  • 

[See  Ceylon  Mission]    .  . 

•Mrs.  Mary  B.  Pwiirht  . 

[afterwards  Mrs.  Winslow] 

•Mrs!  Charlotte  K.  Cherry 

*Mrs.  Jane  E.  Cherry  .  . 

Mrs.  Henrietta  Cherry  . 

[Sec  Ceylon  Mission]     .  . 

Mrs.  Emily  K.  Cope     .  . 

(Mrs.  Julia  A.  J.  Crane  . 


July  31,  1834. 
July  31,  1884. 
Dec.  22,  1830. 


July  31,1834. 
Feb.  9,  1885 
Feb.  9.  1885. 
Oct.  18,  1835. 
Oct.  18,  1836. 
Oct.  18,  1835. 
Oct.  18,  1835. 
Oct.  18,  1835. 
Mar.  10,  1830. 

April  22, 1836. 
April  22, 1836. 

Mar.  21,  1837. 
Mar  21,  1887- 
January,  1840. 
Nov.  i»,'l844. 
May  10,  1887. 
May  l".  1837. 
Maj  10, 1837. 
May  10, 1837. 


Time  of 
Leaving. 


Feb.  28, 1839. 
•Sept.  11,1835. 

Muue  1,  1837. 


Feb.  1835. 
Summer,  1887. 
Bummer,  1887. 

Sept.,  1836 

•Jan.  2.  1830. 
*Dec.  20,  1846. 
1847. 

October,  1841. 
October,  1841. 

*Jan.  8. 1844. 
Mar.  12, 1845. 

1850. 
*Nov.  4,  1887. 
*Jan.  19,  Ml. 

I860. 
January,  1840. 
January.  1840. 
May,  1845. 
May,  1845. 


414 


MISSIONARIES. 

MADURA  MISSION.  — Continded. 


Ordained 
Missionaries. 


Clarendon  F.  Muzzy 


Wives  of  Missionaries. 


William  Tracy,  D.  D. 
Ferdinand  D.  W.  Ward 
♦Horace  S.  Taylor  . 
James  Herrick .  .  . 
Edward  Webb  .  .  . 
John  Rendall  .  .  . 
George  W.  McMillan 
John  E.  Chandler 
George  Ford  .  .  . 
Charles  Little    .     .     . 

Joseph  T.  Noyes  .  . 
♦Nathan  L.  Lord,  M.  D. 
Thomas  S.  Burnell  . 
William  B.  Cipron  . 
Charles  T.  White  .  . 
Edward  Chester  .  . 
George  T.  Washburn 
*David  C.  Scudder  . 
♦Thornton  B.  Penfleld 
Hervey  C.  Ilazen  .  . 
William  S.  Howland  . 
John  E.  Chandler .     . 


*Mrs.  Semantha  B.  Muzzy 

Mrs.  Mary  Aun  Muzzy     . 

[formerly  Miss  Capell] 


Mrs.  Emily  F.  Tracy  .  . 
[See  Madras  Missiou]  .  . 
Mrs   Jane  Shaw  Ward 

Mrs.  Martha  S.  Taylor 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  II.  Ilerrick 


Mrs.  Nancy  A.  Footo  Webb 
*Mrs.  Jane  B.  Kendall      . 


Mrs. 

Mrs 


Rebecca  N.  McMillan 
Charlotte  M.  Chandler 


Mrs.  Ann  Jennet  Ford 


*Mn 
Mrs, 
I  See 
Mrs. 

See 

Mrs. 
[See 
Mrs. 


5.  Amelia  Little  . 
Susan  R.  Little  . 
Ceylon  Mission]  . 
Elizabeth  A  Noyes 
Ceylon  Missiou]  . 
Laura  W.  Lord  . 
Ceylon  Missiou]  . 
Martha  S.  Buruell 


Mrs. 
Mrs. 

Mrs. 
Mis. 
Mrs. 
Mrs 
Mrs 
Mrs 
Mrs 


Sarah  B.  Capron  . 
Anna  Maria  White 


Sophia  Chester    . 
Eliza  E.  Washburn 


Ilarriet  L.  Scudder  . 
Charlotte  E.  Penfield 
Ida  Julia  Ilazen  .  . 
Mary  L.  Howland  . 
.  Jennie  E.  Chandler  . 


Time  of 

Entering. 


May  10,  1837. 
May  10,  1837. 
Feb.  1,  1848 

Oct.  9,  1837. 
Oct.  9,  1837. 
Oct.  9,  1837. 
Oct.  9,  1837. 
Oct.  10,  1844. 
Oct.  10   1844. 
April  29,  1846. 
Apiil  29,  1846. 
April  2y,  1846. 
April  29,  1846. 
April  29,  1846. 
April  29, 1846. 
July,  1846. 
July,  1846. 
April,  1847. 
April,  1847. 
April,  1847. 
April,  1847. 
May,  1S4S. 
May,  1848. 

1854. 

1853. 

1853. 
Dec,  1863. 
Dec,  1863. 
Sept.,  1855. 
Sept  ,  1855.' 
April  6,  1857. 
April  6,  1857. 
April  4,  1857. 
April  4,  1857. 
May.  1869. 
May,  1859. 
May  1,  1860. 
May  1.  1860. 
Julv,  1861. 
July,  1861. 
May,  1867. 
May,  1867. 
January,  1868 
January,  1868 

1873. 

1S73. 

1*73. 
1873. 


Time  of 
Leaving. 


May,  1857. 
*Dec  3,  1846. 
May,  1857. 


Earlv  in  1843. 
Burly  iu  1813. 
*Feb.  3,  1871. 


July  12, 1864. 
July  12,  1864. 

♦Sept.  4,  1867. 
Nov.  8,  1854. 
Nov.  8,  1854. 


1853. 

1853. 
Feb. .  1859. 
*July  18,  1848. 

1859. 


March,  1867. 
March,  1867. 


1869. 
1869. 


*Nov.  19.  1862. 
May,  1863. 
♦Aug.  19, 1871. 

1869. 
1869. 


MISSIONARIES. 
MADUEA   MISSION.  — Continued. 


41i 


Missionary  Physicians. 

Time  or 
Entering. 

Time  op 
Leaving. 

1 
*Johii  Steele,  M.  D.  .      [See  Ceylon  Mission]    .     . 

May  10,  1837. 

*Oct.  6, 1842. 

Mrs.  Mary  Steele     .     .     . 

May  1U,  1837. 

October.  1843. 

[afterwards  Mrs.  Smith] 

Charles  S.Shelton.M.D. 

Mar.  23, 1849. 

May  7, 1856. 

Mrs.  Henrietta  M.  Shelton 

Mar.  23,  1849. 

May  7, 1856. 

Mrs.  Flora  Day  1'almer    . 

March  5,  18b9. 

Assistant  Missionaries. 

•Alfred  North  .    .    . 

Form,  of  Singapore  Mission 

Jan.  1,  1844. 

1847. 

*Mrs.  Minerva  North  . 

Jan.  1,  1844. 

*Jan.  13,  1S44. 

•Miss  Sarah  U\  Ashley    . 

May,  1859. 

Mar.  15,  1864. 

Miss  Rosella  A.  Smith 

May,  1867. 

1872. 

Miss  Martha  S.  Taylor      . 

Dec.  29,  1867. 

Mi3s  Sarah  Pollock  .     .     . 

January,  1868. 

Miss  Carrie  Hartley      .     . 

March  5.  1869. 

MiSfl  Mary  K.  Kendall  .     . 

May,  1870. 

Miss  Elizabeth  Sisson  .     . 

April,  1872. 

MADRAS   MISSION. 


Ordained 
Missionaries. 

Wives  op  Missionaries. 

Time  of 
Entering. 

Time  op 
Leaving. 

*Miron  Winslow,  D.  D. 

[See  Ceylon  Mission]    .    . 

Mar.  22, 1836. 

•Oct.  22,  1864. 

•Mrs.  Catharine  W.  Winslow 

Mar.  22,  1S36. 

•Sept.  23, 1837. 

*Mrs.  Anne  S.  Winslow    . 

Sept.  12, 1838. 

•June  20,  1S43. 

•Mrs.  Mary  B.  Winslow  . 

Mar.  12,  1845. 

*April  20,  ia52. 

Mrs.  Ellen  A    Winslow     . 

1858. 

1864. 

*John  Scudder,  M.  D. 

[See  Ceylon  Mi>sion]    .     . 

Sept.  21,  1836. 

Man.  13,  1866. 

*Mrs   Harriet  Scudder 

Sept.  21,  1836. 

*Nov.  19.  1849. 

Samuel  Uutchings    . 

[See  Ceylon  Mission]    .     . 

April,  1842. 

Dec.,  1843. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  C.  Hutchiugs 

April.  1842. 

Dec,  1843. 

Ferdinand  D.  W.  Ward 

[See  Madura  Mission]  .     . 

Early  in  1843. 

1846. 

Mrs.  Jane  Shaw  Ward 

Early  in  1843. 

1846. 

Henry  M.  Scudder    . 

[See  Areot  Mission]      .     . 

Sept.  5,  1844. 

1851. 

Mrs.  Fanny  L.  Scudder     . 

Sept.  5,  1844. 

1851. 

Feb.  20,  1849. 

1868. 

Mrs.  Harriet  L.  Dulles 

Feb.  20,  1849. 

1853. 

July  13,  1852. 
July  18,  1852. 

Aug.  27, 1858. 
*Jan.  30,  1854. 

•Mrs  Mary  C.  Uurd    .    . 

Assistant  Missionary. 

Phinehas  It.  Hunt     . 

[Since  June,  1S68,  of  the 

Mar.  19, 1840. 

1866. 

[Printer  at  Madras  27 

North  China  Mission] 

years] 

Mrs.  Abigail  N.  Hunt  .     . 

Mar.  19, 1840. 

1866. 

416 


MISSIONARIES. 
V.     ARCOT   MISSIONS. 


Ordained 
Missionaries. 


Henry  M.  Scudder,M.D. 

William  W.  Scudder 
Joseph  Scudder  .  . 
Ezekiel  C.  Scudder  . 
Jared  W.  Scudder 


Wives  op  Missionaries. 


[See  Madras  Mission]    .     . 
Mrs.  Fanny  L.  Scudder     . 

[See  Madras  Mission] 
[See  Ceylon  Mission]    .     . 
*Mrs.  Elizabeth  0.  Scudder 


*Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Scudder  . 
Mrs.  Sarah  R.  Scudder  . 
airs.  Julia  C.  Scudder  .    . 


Assistant  Missionary. 

I  Miss  Louisa  Scudder 


1856. 


Time  op 

Time  op 

Entering. 

Leaving. 

1851. 

1857. 

1851. 

1857. 

1853. 

1857. 

1853. 

*Sept.  14, 1854 

1853. 

1857. 

1853. 

1857. 

1856. 

1857. 

1856. 

1857. 

1856. 

1857. 

1856. 

1857. 

1857. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


CATALOGUE  OF  PUBLICATIONS 

ISSUED  BY  THE  SEVERAL  INDIA  MISSIONS  OF  THE  BOARD. 

[The  author  acknowledges  important  aid  from  the  Rev.  John  A.  Vinton, 
in  the  construction  of  this  catalogue.] 

I.  Printing  at  Bombay,  chiefly  in  the  Maiiratta 
Language. 

In  1817-1824: 
Gospel  of  Matthew. 

Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  Select  Portions  of  Scripture. 
The  Heavenly  Way,  72  pp. 
A  Scripture  History. 
Reading  Book  for  Schools. 
A  Catechism. 

Easy  Method  of  acquiring  the  English  Language. 
The  Compassion  of  Christ  towards  Sinful  Man. 
The  Book  of  Genesis. 
The  Gospels  of  Mark,  Luke,  and  John,  and  the  Sermon  on  the 

Mount. 
The  Epistles  of  James,  Peter,  John,  and  Jude. 
Ten  Commandments,  with  other  passages  of  Scripture. 
A  Tract  containing  Prayers,  Hymns,  etc. 

Elements  of  Geography  and  Astronomy  for  Schools,  80  pp.,  8vo. 
The  Three  Worlds,  72  pp.,  8vo. 
Good  Tidings,  46  pp.,  8vo. 

These  were  repeatedly  reprinted,  some  of  them  with  enlarge- 
ment. 

In  1825  and  1826:  Epistles  to  the  Romans,  Corinthians,  Gala- 
tians,  Philemon,  and  Hebrews,  and  the  Revelation. 


420  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

A  Sermon  by  Mr.  Graves,  24  pp.,  8vo. 

The  Miracles  of  Christ,  36  pp.,  12mo. 

Elementary  Arithmetic,  48  pp.,  8vo. 

The  Discourses  of  our  Saviour,  24  pp.,  1 2mo. 

The  Parables  of  Christ,  22  pp.,  12mo. 

In  1826-1828:  The  entire  New  Testament,  translated  by  the 
Mission. 

Previous  to  the  close  of  1829  :  The  Unreasonableness  of  Idolatry, 
a  letter  addressed  by  Bengalee  converts  to  their  country- 
men, 22  pp. 

Relief  to  the  Sin-burdened,  20  pp.,  12mo. 

In  whom  shall  we  trust?  33  pp.,  12mo. 

The  Wrath  to  Come,  28  pp.,  12mo. 

Marks  of  the  True  Religion,  32  pp.,  12mo. 

The  First  Part  of  Genesis,  56  pp.,  12mo. 

In  1829  :  26,000  copies,  containing  1,057,000  pages. 

In  1830:  A  revised  edition  of  the  New  Testament. 

In  Guzerattee.  —  Portions  of  Scripture  and  Tracts. 

In  Portuguese.  —  Reasons  for  Separating  from  the  Church  of 
Rome,  11  pp.,  12mo. 

In  1830:  35,800  copies,  containing  1,136,700  pages. 
Between  1830  and  1834: 

A  Spelling  Book,  34  pp. 

A  Catechism,  20  pp. 

A  Scripture  Catechism,  12mo,  3,000  copies. 

The  True  Worship  of  God,  12mo,  2,500  copies. 

Prayers  and  Hymns,  12mo,  3d  edition  in  1832,  3,000  copies. 

Summary  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  8vo,  2,500  copies. 

Nature  of  Prayer,  with  Prayers  and  Hymns  for  Schools,  12mo, 
600  copies. 

Glad  Tidings,  12mo,  4th  edition,  3,000  copies. 

First  Book  for  Schools,  12mo,  6th  edition,  revised,  3,000  copies. 

Gospel  of  Matthew,  4to,  1,000  copies. 


CATALOGUE  OF  PUBLICATIONS.  421 

In  1834  : 
Hymns  for  Public  Worship. 
Good  Instructions. 
Concerning  Salvation. 
Free  Remedy  for  Sinners. 
The  True  Atonement. 
The  Birth  of  Christ. 
The  Sufferings  and  Death  of  Christ. 
Preparation  for  Death. 
On  Regeneration. 
Biblical  Instruction. 
Scripture  Doctrines  (revised). 
Little  Henry  and  His  Bearer. 
Exodus. 

In  1835  : 
First  Book  for  Children,  16  pp.,  2,000  copies. 
Catechism,  24  pp.,  3,000  copies. 
Barakhudya,  26  pp.,  2,000  copies. 
Hymns,  32  pp.,  2,000  copies. 
Experience  of  Babajee,   a  converted  Brahmin,   22  pp.,  2,000 

copies. 
The  Way  of  Salvation,  14  pp.,  2,000  copies. 
Romans  and  Corinthians,  108  pp.,  2,000  copies. 
Gospel  of  Luke,  88  pp.,  2,000  copies. 
Gospel  of  John,  66  pp.  2,000  copies. 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  83  pp.,  8,000  copies. 
Scripture  Narratives,  52  pp.,  2,000  copies. 

The  printing  for  1840,  was  more  than  2,000,000  pages;  for 
1841,  about  2,500,000  pages;  for  1842,  1,792,000  pages;  for 
1843,  nearly  500,000  pages. 

The  Mission  was  printing,  in  1844,  an  English  and  Mahratta 
Dictionary,  prepared  by  the  Bombay  government.  Several  peri- 
odicals were  printed,  among  them  the  "  Dnyanodaya"  (Rise  of 
Knowledge),  a  semi-monthly  publication,  commenced  at  Ahmed- 


422  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

nuggiir  in  1842,  and  transferred  to  Bombay  in  January,  1845; 
also  the  "  Bombay  Witness,"  a  religious  newspaper  in  English, 
and  the  "  Bombay  Temperance  Advocate,"  conducted  on  the 
principle  of  total  abstinence  from  all  that  can  intoxicate. 

On  the  first  day  of  March,  1847,  the  Rev.  David  Oliver  Allen, 
who  had  the  superintendence  of  the  Press  at  Bombay,  had  the 
satisfaction  of  possessing  a  complete  copy  of  the  Bible  in  Mah- 
ratta,  issued  from  that  press,  and,  at  that  time,  the  only  complete 
copy  in  the  world. 


CATALOGUE  OF  PUBLICATIONS. 


423 


In  the  year  1849  :  — 


1.  In  Mahratta. 

Articles  of  Faith  in  the  Church 

at  Ahmednuggur    . 
Gospel  of  Luke 
Mahratta  Hymns 
Good  Tidings 
Mahratta  Primer 
Shepherd  of  Salisbury  Plain  . 
The  School  Boy 
Summary  of  Scripture  Doctrines 
First  Book  for  Children     . 
Good  Tidings 
The  same  in  Modh    . 
History   of   British   India    (for 

Board  of  Education) 
Memoir  of  Columbus  (for  Board 

of  Education) 
Work  on  Railways 
Importance    of    Cleanliness    to 

Health  and  Character    . 
Works  for  Bombay  Tract  and 

Bible  Societies 
The  Dnyanodaya  . 

2.  Ix  GiJZERATTEE. 

Gallaudet's  Youth's  Book  of 
Natural  Theology  (for  the 
Board  of  Education) 

Memoir  of  Columbus  (for  the 
Board  of  Education) 

Essay  against  Female  Infanti- 
cide (for  the  Bombay  Gov- 
ernment)       .... 

Idiomatical  Exercises,  in  Eng- 
lish and  Guzerattee    . 

3.  In  Scindee. 

Scindce  and  English  Dictionary 
(for  Bombay  Government)     . 

Scindee  Grammar  (for  Bombay 
Government) 


Size. 


12mo. 
8vo. 

32mo. 
18mo. 
16mo. 
lfinio. 
12mo. 
18mo. 
32mo. 
18mo. 

8vo. 


8vo. 
12mo. 


l2mo. 


73 
14 
32 
52 
58 
30 
70 
60 
32 
24 

274 

178 
49 

24 


Copies. 


8vo. 
8vo. 


254 
144 


370 


241 
178 


Total  pages. 


250 
2,000 

500 
2,000 
2,000 
2,000 
2,000 
2,000 
2,500 
1,000 
2,000 

2,000 

1,000 
600 

1,000 


2,000 

146,000 

7,000 

64,000 
104,000 
1 16,000 

60,000 
140,000 
150,000 

32,000 

48,000 

548,000 

178,000 
29,400 

24,000 

200,000 


750 

1,000 

1,500 
1,000 

500 
500 


190,500 
144,000 

82,500 
370,000. 

120,500 
89,000 


424 


MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 


In  1850,  Books  in  the  native  languages     . 

Tracts  and  Pamphlets  in  the  na- 
tive languages 

Scripture  portions  in  the  native 
languages         . 

English  books  and  pamphlets  . 

English  circulars 


In  1851,  Books  in  the  native  languages    . 
Tracts  in  the  native  languages 
Scriptural  portions  in  the  native 

languages         . 
English    publications,    circulars, 

etc. 


In  1852,  Books  in  the  native  languages    . 
Tracts  in  the  native  languages 
Scriptural  portions  in  the  native 

languages         . 
English  publications 


In  1853,  Scripture  portions  in  native  lan- 
guages   . 
Tracts  in  the  native  languages 
English  publications   . 


Copies. 


24,275 

111,250 

8,300 

12,130 

322,308 


478,263 


24,225 
75,340 

10,250 

294,920 


404,735 


12,169 

74,000 

9,000 
378,025 


473,194 


4,190,600 

4,062,350 

1,041,200 

967,000 

3,463,537. 


13,724,687 


4,262,075 
3,336,850 

1,314,800 

2,666,693 


11,580,418 


2,208,279 
3,216,000 

1,575,000 
3,060,052 


10,059,331 


1,362,000 
4,215,500 
5,261,294 


10,838,794 


The  whole  number  of  pages  printed  from  the  beginning,  was 
135,719,747. 

The  missionaries  continued  to  edit  and  to  issue  the  "  Dnyano- 
daya,"  in  English  and  Mahratta,  once  in  two  weeks,  which  had  a 
large  circulation  among  the  educated  and  influential  classes, 
reaching  many  who  could  be  reached  in  no  other  way.     They 


CATALOGUE  OF  PUBLICATIONS.  425 

also  edited,  in  part,  the  "  Bombay  Temperance  Repository,"  a 
quarterly  magazine  of  forty  pages.  Their  publications,  of  all 
kinds,  were  mostly  sold,  the  practice  of  gratuitous  distribution 
having  been  some  time  discontinued. 

The  demand  for  Christian  books  and  tracts  continued  in  the 
following  years,  but  not  in  the  same  degree  as  previously.  It 
was  thought  best,  by  the  missionaries,  to  give  more  of  their 
attention  to  preaching  and  to  schools,  and  the  missionary  force 
had  been  weakened  by  the  departure  of  some  of  the  most  effi- 
cient laborers. 

In  the  progress  of  events,  moreover,  there  was  no  longer  need 
of  so  large  an  establishment  to  carry  on  the  work  of  missions  in 
that  part  of  India,  and  the  pecuniary  gain  thence  arising  did 
not  authorize  the  employment  of  so  large  a  part  of  the  mission- 
ary force  in  conducting  it.  That  part  of  the  establishment, 
therefore,  which  was  required  for  English  job-printing,  was  sold 
in  1855,  while  the  printing  of  the  Scriptures  and  of  religious 
books  and  tracts  was  continued  as  before. 

The  amount  of  printing  in  1856  was  as  follows  :  — 
For  the  American  Mission,  seven  distinct  works    .     598,900  pp. 
For  the  Bombay  Auxiliary  Bible  Society,  Old  Tes- 
tament in  part     3,476,000  pp. 

For  the  Bombay  Tract  and  Book  Society,  twenty- 

*   two  distinct  works 1,807,000  pp. 


5,863,900  pp. 

The  printing  of  a  new  and  revised  edition  of  the  Mahratla 
Bible  was  completed  in  1857. 

In  1867,  there  were  new  editions  of  Old  Testament  Selections, 
230  pp.,  12mo;  Mahratta  Primer,  52  pp.,  16mo;  Catechism,  40 
pp.,  32mo;  a  Geography,  illustrated,  168  pp.,  12mo;  Devotional 
Songs,  in  favorite  native  melodies,  52  pp.,  16mo. 

The  mission  still  issued  the  "  Dnysinodaya,"  which  had  now, 
1867,  completed  its  twenty-sixth  volume,  each  volume  contain- 


426  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

ing  about  400  pages,  royal  octavo.  It  was  ably  edited  by  Shahfi 
Daji  Kuhadk,  an  energetic  native  convert,  and  has  been  con- 
tinued thirty  years  in  all,  to  the  present  time. 

The  Mahratta  New  Testament,  with  references,  was  issued  in 
1868. 

II.  Printing  in  Ceylon,  chiefly  in  the  Tamil  Language. 

Previous  to  1833: 
Spiritual  Light,  8  pp.,  10,000  copies. 
The  Heavenly  Way,  4  pp.,  10,000  copies. 
The  Means  of  Bliss,  16  pp.,  8,000  copies. 

Martyrdom  of  Polycarp,  Bishop  of  Smyrna,  8  pp.,  4,000  copies. 
Letters  to  the  Brahmins  and  Priests,  exposing  the  absurdities  of 

their  religion,  16  pp.,  6,000  copies. 
A  Doctrinal  Catechism,  35  pp.,  12mo. 
A  School  Book,  64  pp. 
A  Hymn  Book,  450  pp. 
The  Blind  Girl. 

Portions  of  the  Scriptures  and  some  Tracts  were  printed  from 
year  to  year,  of  which  we  have  no  particular  account.     In  the 
year  1830  nine  new  tracts  were  printed,  and  second  editions  of 
two  others.     Four  of  the  new  tracts  were  portions  of  a  series 
entitled  "  The  Blind  Way."     They  contained  an  exposure  of  the 
absurdities  of  idolatry,  derived  from  approved  writers   among 
the  Hindus  themselves.     Another  of  the  new  tracts  contained 
the  Secret  Prayer  of  the  Brahmins,  taken  from  the  Four  Vedas, 
but  not  known  to  the  people  at  large.     Other  tracts  were  — 
Good  Instruction. 
The  Marriage  of  Priests. 
The  Swearer's  Prayer. 
Francis  Newport. 

An  Abridgment  of  Scripture  History  for  Schools. 
The  Articles  and  Covenant  of  the  Church. 


CATALOGUE  OF  PUBLICATIONS. 


427 


In  1833 : 
J)r.  Sewall's  Tract  on  Temperance. 
Honesty  is  the  Best  Policy. 
The  Negro  Servant. 

Life  of  Philip  P ,  of  Birmingham. 

Krishnu  Pal. 

The  Mountain  Miller. 

Three  Tracts,  of  10,000  each. 

In  1834  and  1835: 


Pages. 

Copies. 

Whole  number 
of  Pages. 

Twenty-five  tracts,  titles  not  given 

312 

242,000 

2,560,000 

Almanac         ..... 

68 

1,000 

68,000 

Catechism  ..... 

24 

450 

10,800 

Notice  and  Invitation     . 

12 

700 

8,400 

First  Lessons,  English  and  Tamil 

64 

3,000 

192,000 

Picture  Reading  Book    . 

56 

1,500 

84,000 

Almanac     ..... 

50 

4,000 

200,000 

Cards      ...... 

12 

4,000 

48,000 

Spelling  and  Reading  Book 

12 

6,000 

72,000 

Tamil  and  English  Prayers    . 

36 

1,500 

54,000 

Reading  Book  for  Schools  . 

16 

4,000 

64,000 

Spelling  Book         .... 

48 

10,000 

480,000 

Definitions           .... 

84 

6,000 

504,000 

Reading  Book,  2d  edition,  enlarged 

64 

6,000 

384,000 

Total 

858 

290,150 

4,729,200 

The  printing  during  the  year  1835  was  3,383,500  pages. 

The  printing  in  1836  was  346,500  copies,  and  8,947,800  pages, 
making  14,785,400  pages  from  the  beginning. 

In  1837,  it  amounted  to  65,500  bound  volumes,  311,000  tracts, 
and  12,436,000  pages. 

The  volumes  in  1838  were  39,000;  tracts,  493,000;  pages, 
17,649,200. 


428 


MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 


During  the  first  half  of  the  year  1839,   96,000  copies,  and 
13,256,000  pages,  as  follows  : 


Size. 

Pages. 

Copies. 

No.  of  pages. 

Oriental  Temperance  Ad- 

vocate    .... 

4to. 

16 

1,000 

16,000 

Report  of  Jaffna  Bible  So- 

ciety       .... 

8vo. 

24 

300 

7,200 

List  of  Church  Members 

8vo. 

24 

1,000 

24,000 

Catechism,  two  forms 

12mo. 

24 

3,000 

72,000 

Appendix  to  Almanac    . 

1 2mo. 

28 

3,000 

84,000 

Friendly  Epistle  (to  Cath- 

olics)      .... 

12mo. 

16 

20,000 

320,000 

Spiritual  Milk 

12mo. 

8 

20,000 

160,000 

Scripture     History,      with 

Questions 

18mo. 

324 

30,000 

9,720,000 

Deuteronomy . 

18mo. 

230 

10,000 

2,300,000 

First  Book  for  Spelling  and 

Reading 

24mo. 

60 

10,000 

600,000 

From  July  1,  1839,  to  July  1,  1840,  9,144,400  pages,  and  31,465 
volumes  of  various  sizes  bound.  During  the  last  six  months  of 
1840,  13,172,350  pages  were  printed,  of  which  9,500,000  pages 
were  portions  of  the  Scriptures. 

The  printing  from  the  beginning  of  the  mission  to  the  end  of 
1839,  amounted  to  519,000  copies,  and  30,905,200  pages. 

In  1840  the  number  of  pages  exceeded  11,300,000. 

In  1841  nearly  17,500,000  pages;  and  a  large  number  of  vol- 
umes bound. 

In  1842,  10,362,600  pages,  of  which  3,826,000  were  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  4,240,000  tracts. 

In  1843,  the  printing  was  nearly  7,824,540  pages,  of  which 
337,500  were  in  4to,  3,310,600  in  8vo,  and  the  remainder  in 
smaller  sizes.  The  number  of  volumes  15,000,  of  tracts  139,000; 
3,345,000  pages  were  of  the  Scriptures,  and  2,919,600  pages  of 
tracts;  7,170,440  pages  were  in  Tamil,  220,600  in  English,  the 
remainder  in  Tamil  and  English. 


CATALOGUE  OF  PUBLICATIONS.  429 

During  1844,  the  pages  were  5,809,000.  Of  these  1,546,000 
were  of  Scripture,  and  2,844  pages  of  tracts. 

During  1845,  about  6,000,000  pages  were  printed,  and  numer- 
ous volumes  bound. 

In  1847,  1,108,000  pages  of  Scripture  were  printed,  and 
2,705,800  pages  of  tracts;  of  other  printing,  2,480,000  pages; 
total,  6,293,800  pages. 

In  1848,  pages  of  Scripture,  680.000;  of  tracts,  2,659,000. 

In  1849,  pages  of  Scripture,  168,000;  of  tracts,  4,090,000; 
total,  6,627,400.  "Whole  number  from  the  beginning,  152,104,098 
pages. 

In  1850,  the  printing  amounted  to  6,227,800  pages;  of  which 
2,015,600  were  of  Scripture,  and  3,427,200  were  of  tracts. 

In  1851,  the  number  of  pages  printed  was  but  3,023,000;  re- 
sulting from  the  fact  that  the  Jaffna  Tract  Society,  which  had 
hitherto  supplied,  in  great  measure,  the  means  for  printing  tracts, 
was  in  debt. 

In  1852,  the  amount  of  printing  was  2,082,440  pages.  This 
further  diminution  was  due,  in  part,  to  the  fact  that  large  sup- 
plies of  Scripture  and  tracts  remained  on  hand,  and  in  part  to 
the  endeavor  to  sell  books,  rather  than  give  them  away,  as 
formerly. 

In  1853,  the  number  of  pages  printed  was  only  1,595,400;  less 
than  in  any  previous  year  since  1833.  Among  the  works  issued 
were  Bunyan's  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  translated  by  Mrs.  Spauld- 
ing,  1,500  copies,  and  a  work  on  Anatomy  and  Physiology, 
translated  by  Dr.  Samuel  F.  Green,  1,000  copies.  Several  relig- 
ious tracts,  of  from  two  to  fifty-two  pages  each,  were  printed  in 
editions  of  from  3,000  to  nearly  7,000  copies.  More  than  15,000 
volumes  were  bound.  Tbe  "Morning  Star,"  a  semi-montbly 
periodical,  in  Tamil,  but  partly  in  English,  had  been  commenced 
some  years  previous. 

In  1854,  the  printing  rose  to  3,408,600  pages;  and  23,494  vol- 
umes were  bound.     Among  the  works  printed  were  a  new  Tamil 


4o0  MISSIONS   TO  INDIA. 

Hymn  Book,  a  Manual  of  Private  Devotion  for  the  Church  Mis- 
sion, and  an  Algebra  in  Tamil.  Forty-one  persons  were  em- 
ployed in  the  printing  and  binding  departments. 

In  1855,  the  printing  establishment  was  sold,  under  certain 
conditions,  to  the  native  workmen  who  had  long  been  employed 
therein.  The  first  work  printed  by  the  new  proprietors  was  a 
tract  in  Tamil,  entitled  "  The  Poor  Widow,"  giving  an  account 
furnished  by  Dr.  Augustus  C.  Thompson,  of  a  deceased  member 
of  his  church  in  Roxbury,  Mass.  The  "  Morning  Star,"  now 
wholly  in  Tamil  and  edited  by  the  mission,  continued  to  be 
issued. 

A  monthly  paper  in  Tamil,  entitled  "  The  Youth's  Friend," 
was  issued  and  circulated  by  the  native  printers. 

The  practice  of  distributing  books,  tracts,  and  papers,  by  sale, 
became  general  about  1861. 

One  thousand  copies  of  a  new  Mental  Arithmetic  were  printed 
in  1863,  and  two  tracts,  a  Pastoral  Letter,  and  the  "Week  of 
Prayer."  A  School  Geography,  of  40  pages,  in  1864.  Of  the 
tract,  "  The  Brazen  Serpent,"  3,000  copies  were  issued  in  1865, 
and  3,000  of  the  "  Third  Tamil  Instructor." 

The  printing  done  for  the  mission  by  the  native  printers  in 
1866  amounted  to  658,040  pqges.     In  1867  to  354,400  pages. 

In  1868  there  were  printed  for  the  mission : 
The  Book  of  Proverbs      .         .         .     1,000  copies,  102,000  pp. 
Questions  on  Proverbs  .         .         .         1,000  copies,     72,000  pp. 
Mental  Arithmetic    ....     2,500  copies,  200,000  pp. 
Tamil  Surgery       ....  250  copies,  126,000  pp. 


4,750  copies,  500,000  pp. 

HI.   Printing  at  Madras,  in  the  Tamil  and  other 

Languages. 
In  May,  1838,  the  large  printing  establishment  in  Madras, 
previously  belonging  to  the  English  Church  Missionary  Society, 


CATALOGUE  OF  PUBLICATIONS.  431 

was  purchased,  and  in  June  set  to  work  for  the  American  Mis- 


sion. 


During  the  last  half  of  the  year  1838,  30,000  volumes,  large 
and  small,  were  printed,  and  150,000  tracts. 

la  1839  the  issues,  with  those  of  the  preceding  half  year, 
amounted  to  about  21,000,000  pages. 

In  1840,  about  11,660,000  pages  were  printed  of  the  Tamil 
language,  besides  a  large  amount  in  English. 

During  1841,  the  printing  amounted  to  20,966,739  pages,  of 
which  10,820,200  pages  were  religious  tracts  in  Tamil,  English, 
and  Tehlgu,  and  8,252,817  pages  were  portions  of  the  Bible  in 
the  native  languages. 

In  1842,  more  than  19,000,000  pages  in  Tamil  were  printed. 

In  1843,  eighteen  volumes  were  printed— the  number  of  copies 
not  specified,  —  besides  twenty-seven  different  tracts.  Pages  of 
Scripture  printed,  3,248,000,  and  of  tracts,  3,914,000.  Among 
the  works  printed  at  these  presses,  was  a  monthly  Tamil  news- 
paper, and  a  monthly  Tamil  magazine. 

During  1844,  there  were  printed  15,950,951  pages.  An  edi- 
tion of  the  Bible  in  Tamil,  of  6,000  copies,  was  completed.  "  The 
Aurora,"  a  semi-monthly  journal  in  Tamil,  and  a  semi-monthly 
pamphlet  containing  reading  lessons  for  each  day  in  the  month, 
were  printed;  also  a  volume  of  400  pages,  containing  expositions 
of  the  Parables  of  Christ,  prepared  by  Mr.  Ward,  one  of  the 
missionaries. 

In  1845,  nearly  27,000,000  pages  were  printed,  and  in  1846 
about  15,000,000.  In  1847,  9,253,800  pages  of  Scripture, 
6,391,000  pages  of  tracts,  and  367,000  pages  of  other  works. 
Total,  16,011,800  pages. 

Seven  years  from  1838,  the  American  Bible  Society  appro- 
priated for  printing  at  Madras,  $21,000.  The  American  Tract 
Society,  at  the  end  of  1845,  had  granted  for  printing  Tracts 
in  Madras,  $13,800. 

The  number  of  pages  printed  in  1848,  was  11,693,252,  of 
which  3,250,874  pages  were  in  English. 


432  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

The  printing  in  1849  stood  thus:  in  Tamil,  4,002,500  pages; 
in  Telugu,  1,892,400  pages;  in  English,  1,742,988  pages;  total, 
7,637,888  pages. 

The  printing  from  the  beginning  was  170,007,390  pages. 

In  1850  the  number  of  pages  printed  was  22,400,831.  The 
whole  Bible  in  Tamil,  in  one  volume  royal  octavo,  a  new  version 
and  in  new  type,  was  completed  in  November. 

The  amount  of  printing  in  1851  was  14,552,081  pages. 

In  1852,  12,958,472  pages,  of  which  4,440,000  pages  were  of 
the  Scriptures. 

In  1853,  the  number  of  pages  was  27,813,246,  and  more  than 
12,000,000  of  these  pages  were  of  the  Bible.  Five  thousand 
copies  each  of  the  Gospels  in  Telugu  were  printed,  at  the  charge 
of  the  Madras  Auxiliary  Bible  Society. 

In  1854,  the  number  of  pages  was  14,401,846,  of  which 
7,868,000  were  of  Scripture,  and  2,846,000  of  Tracts. 

The  English  Department  of  the  Printing  Establishment  was 
sold  in  1855,  and  all  English  printing,  except  in  works  requiring 
both  languages,  and  the  private  work  of  the  mission,  ceased 
about  the  middle  of  1856. 

The  following  three  works  are  mentioned  as  issued  for  the 
Arcot  Mission  in  1854  and  1855  : 

"  The  Jewel  Mine  of  Salvation,"  in  Tamil ;  the  same  in  Te- 
lugu.    "  Spiritual  Teaching,"  in  Tamil ;  the  same  in  Telugu. 

In  1856,  a  volume  entitled  "Sweet  Savors  of  Divine  Truth,' 
in  Tamil.     Their  connection  with  the  Board  ceased  in  1857. 

At  Madras,  in  1856,  the  printing  was  as  follows  : 
Scriptures  in  the  vernacular  languages        .         .  12,848,000  pp. 

Tracts  in  the  same 2,161,000  pp. 

Other  books  in  the  same,  including  the  Tamil 

and  English  Dictionary  begun,  which  had  long 

been  in  preparation 3,080,517  pp. 


Total  in  the  vernacular        .         .        .       18,089,517  pp. 


CATALOGUE  OF  PUBLICATIONS.  433 

Books  in  English 472,798  pp. 


Total  in  pages 18,562,315  pp. 

In  1857,  the  printing  was  as  follows: 
Tamil  Scriptures      .         .         .     9,398,000  pp. 
Telugu  Scriptures         .         .         4,208,000  pp. 
Hindustanee  Scriptures    .         .        401,300  pp. 


Total,  Scriptures        .       14,007,300  pp.— 14,007,300  pp. 

Tamil  Tracts 19,500  pp. 

Tamil  Books  .         .         .  3,984,620  pp. 

Telugu  Books  ....        145,000  pp. 
Hindustanee  Books       .         .  222,000  pp. 


Total,  Books  .         .     4,351,620  pp.—  4,351,620  pp. 


Total  pages 18,378,420  pp. 

The  printing  done  in  1858  was  as  follows: 
In  Tamil,  Scriptures         .         .  13,690,200  pp. 
Tracts  .         .         .  954,000  pp. 

School-books    .         .     2,950,300  pp. 
Pamphlets     .         .  28,640  pp.— 17,623,140  pp. 

In  Telugu,  Scriptures  .  .  900,000  pp. 
School-books  .  1,462,000  pp. 
Pamphlets       .         .  2,300  pp.—  2,364,000  pp. 

In  Hindustanee,  Scriptures  .  732,000  pp. 

Pamphlets      .                500  pp.—       732,500  pp. 
Tamil  —  English  Dictionary  in  part,  continued  96,000  pp. 

English  and  Tamil  School-books      .         .         .  70,000  pp. 

English  and  Telugu  School-books          .         .  144,000  pp. 

English 30,200  pp. 


Total 21,060,140  pp. 

Printing  in  1859  : 
Scriptures,  in  Tamil  .         .  14,029,872  pp. 

in  Telugu  .         .         2,400,000  pp.— 16,429,872  pp. 


434  MISSIONS  TO  INDIA. 

Tracts  — Tamil        .         .         .     3,601,500  pp. 

Telugu .         .         .  209,000  pp. 

Hindustanee     .         .  39,800  pp. 

English  .         .  15,300  pp. 

English  and  Hindustanee    48,000  pp. —  3,913,600  pp. 

School-books  —  Tamil      .         .     1,272,000  pp. 

Tehlgu  .  929,000  pp. 

English   .         .  56,000  pp. 

Tamil  and  English      2,400  pp. —  2,259,400  pp. 

Reports,   English  and  Telugii,   4,400;    Tamil, 

2,100;  English,  9,400 15,900  pp. 

Circulars,  etc.,  Tamil,  5,464;  English,  6,492  11,956  pp. 

Dravidian  Alphabets 250  pp. 


Total  pages  of  all  languages       .         .         22,630,978  pp. 

The  printing  during  the  year  1860,  in  all  languages,  amounted 
to  18,654,079  pages,  of  which  14,353,536  were  in  Tamil,  and 
3,440,000  Telugu.  Dr.  Winslow's  Tamil  and  English  Dictionary 
was  issued  from  the  press  in  1862.  Besides  this,  there  was  no 
report  of  the  printing  for  1861  or  1862. 

In  1863,  there  were  printed,  in  all,  14,363,043  pages,  of  which 
9,216,400  were  of  the  Scriptures,  and  3,566,300  of  Tracts. 

The  printing  for  1864  amounted  to  17,670,363  pages,  of  which 
more  than  9,000,000  pages  were  of  the  Scriptures.  The  English 
Department  of  the  printing  establishment  was,  as  heretofore 
stated,  sold  in  1855.  The  remaining  department,  that  for  native 
printing,  was  sold  in  1865  to  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian 
Knowledge.  The  total  amount  of  printing  from  July,  1838,  to 
December,  1864,  was  as  follows  : 

Scriptures 228,417,018  pp. 

Tracts 105,993,626  pp. 

Other  works 110,206,376  pp. 


Making  a  grand  total  of    .         .         .         444,617,020  pp. 


INDEX, 


Abbott,  Rev.  Amos,  79,  269. 

Abbott,  Mrs.  Anstress,  79,  269. 

Agnew,  Miss  Eliza,  180. 

Ahmednuggur,  a  new  station,  84; 
church  at,  114;  successful  efforts, 
275;  pastors  ordained,  243,  281; 
change  in  the  high  school,  246; 
union  of  churches,  314;  Dr.  Seel- 
ye's  lectures,  321;  Mr.  Park's, 
324. 

Allen,  Rev.  David  O.,  75,  87,  90,  92, 
94,97,  110,  119. 

Allen,  Mrs.  Myra  W.,  87. 

Allen,  Mrs.  Orpah,  101. 

American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions,  formation  of, 
1;  its  ecclesiastical  connections, 
2;  events  leading  to  its  formation, 
2  ;  rise  of  its  first  mission,  4; 
special  meeting  of,  257;  special 
committee  and  their  report,  258. 

Appeal,  an  eloquent,  19. 

Apthorp,  Rev.  George  Henry,  171, 
183. 

Apthorp,  Mrs.  Mary,  171,  183,  191. 

Aicot  Mission,  229,  236-240,^262;  its 
transfer  to  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church,  240. 

Ashley,  Miss  Sarah  (Mrs.  York),  374. 

Ashley,  Miss  Harriet  S.,  308. 

Association,  a  Native,  402. 

Atkinson,  Rev.  William  Henry,  305. 
Atkinson,  Mrs.  Calista,  305. 

Babajee,  a  brahmin  convert,  76,  84, 


88,  89;  remarkable  character  of 

his  wife,  85. 
Ballantine,  Rev.  Henry,  79,  90,  117, 

118,  244,  272,  285 ;  his  death  and 

character,  298. 
Ballantine,   Mrs.  Elizabeth,  79,  90, 

2!)9. 
Ballantine,  Rev.  Henry  W.,  294. 
Ballantine,  Mrs.  Mary  E.,  294. 
Baptist  Missionary  Society,  English, 

28,  29,  38. 
Bardwell,  Rev.  Horatio,  56,  61,  130. 
Bardwell,  Mrs.  Rachel,  56. 
Barker,  Rev.  William  P.,  121,  244. 
Barker,  Mrs.  Lucilia  U-,  121,  295. 
Bates,  Rev.  James  A.,  336. 
Bates,  Mrs.  Surah  A.,  336. 
Batticotta,  interesting  pastorate  at, 

341. 
Batticotta  Seminary,  150,  172,  176, 

182,  185,  255,  327. 
Battle  of  Missions,  Great,  38. 
Bible,    Tamil,    pocket    edition    of, 

232. 
Bible-women,  309,  310,  395,  400. 
Bie,   Colonel,    Governor  of   Seram- 

pore,  33. 
Bissell,  Rev.  Samuel,  118,  244,  311. 
Bisstll,   Mrs.  Mary  Elizabeth,   118, 

310. 
Board  of  Missions  in  Boston,  Wom- 
an's, 309. 
Boggs,  Rev.  George  W.,  79,  87. 
Boggs,  Mrs.  Isabella  W.,  79,  87. 
Boguc,  Rev.  Dr.,  31. 


436 


INDEX. 


Bombay,  Dr.  Seelye's  English  lec- 
tures in,  322. 

Bombay,  14-21,  47,  59,  74,  122;  why 
no  more  success,  325 ;  important 
facilities  there,  325. 

Bombay  University,  a  new  responsi- 
bility, 314. 

Bowen,  Rev.  George,  109,  244,  268, 
269. 

Brahmins,  public  discussions  with, 
86;  baptism  of,  98,  288,  290;  na- 
tive estimate  of,  202. 

Brahminic  Philosophy,  bearing  of 
education  on,  165. 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  38. 

Brown,  Rev.  David,  8,  18. 

Brown,  Miss  Sarah  F.,  180. 

Brownrigg,  Governor  of  Ceylon,  129. 

Bruce,  Rev.  Henry  J.,  294,  309,  313. 

Bruce,  Mrs.  Hephzibah  P.,  294. 

Burgess,  Rev.  Ebenezer,  99,  117, 
118,  124. 

Burgess,  Mrs.  Mary,  99,  102,  117. 

Burgess,  Mrs.  Abigail,  120. 

Burnell,  Rev.  Thomas  S.,  188,  252. 

Burnell,  Mrs.  Martha,  188. 

Calcutta,  7. 

Capron,  Rev.  William  B.,  349,  373. 

Capron,  Mrs.  Sarah  B.,  373,  397. 

Caravan,  ship,  7,  9. 

Carey,  Dr.  William,  7, 18,  24,  29,  36, 
46^ 

Cases,  interesting,  81. 

Castes,  211,  226,  290. 

Ceylon  Conference,  252, 

Ceylon  Mission,  chapters  on,  129, 
146,  172,  327,  345. 

Ceylon  Mission,  130,  132,  137,  146, 
172,  191,  251,  337 ;  a  pleasing  re- 
trospect, 344;  an  interesting  view, 
349. 

(handler,  Rev.  John  E.,  211,  259. 

Chandler,  Mrs.  Charlotte  M.,  259. 

Chapels,  erection  of,  284. 


Chapin,  Rev.  William  W.,  296. 

Chapin,  Mrs.  Catharine  I.,  296. 

Cherry,  Rev.  Henry,  199. 

Cherry,  Mrs.  Charlotte  H.,  199. 

Cherry,  Mrs.  Jane  E.,  200. 

Cherry,  Mrs.  Henrietta,  413. 

Chester,  Rev.  Edward,  374. 

Chester,  Mrs.  Sophia,  374. 

Cholera  in  Ceylon,  deaths  from,  348. 

Christian  Alliance,  native  formed  at 
Bombay,  315. 

Christian  Congregations,  207,  253. 

Church,  admissions  to,  180,  210,  213, 
225,  285,  318,  319. 

Churches,  self-sustaining,  248. 

Church  membership,  increase  of, 
285 ;  cause  of  a  sudden  increase  of 
converts,  286;  character  of  mem- 
bers, 287 ;  whence  the  converts,  288. 

Church  Missionary  Society,  38. 

Clergy,  singular  position  of  the,  26, 
28. 

College  in  Jaffna,  proposal  for,  147; 
commenced,  336. 

Committee  of  Thirteen,  the,  257, 
259. 

Comparison  of  Ten  Years,  66. 

Conference  in  Ceylon,  the,  misap- 
prehended, 257. 

Conferences,  Missionary,  241-262; 
influence  of,  203. 

Conferences,  Baptist  Missionary,  263. 

Conferences,  General  Missionary, 
264. 

Congregations,  Christian,  259. 

Continffnt,  labors  on  the,  86. 

Cope,  Rev.  Edward,  182,  190,  199. 

Cope,  Mrs.  Emily  K.,  182,  190,  199. 

Crane,  Rev.  Nathaniel  M.,  199. 

Crane,  Mrs.  Julia  A.  J.,  199. 

Dajiba,  85,  89. 

Danish  missionaries,  excellent  spirit 

of,  144. 
Daood,  Shaik,  death  of,  286. 


INDEX. 


437 


Dean,  Rev.  Samuel  C,  2G9. 
Dean,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  A.,  269. 
Deputation  to  the   India  Missions, 

•24  1 ,  242. 
De  Riemer,  Rev.  William,  353,  354. 
De  Riemer,  Mrs.  Emily  F.,  353. 
Dictionaries,  Tamil,  181,  232. 
Dixon,  Rev.  J.  B.,  a  translator,  110. 
Dnyanodaya  (Rise  of   Knowledge), 

109. 
Dulles,  Rev.  John  W.,  227,  229. 
Dulles,  Mrs.  Harriet  L.,  227,  229. 
Dutch  in  Jaffna,  133. 
Dwight,  Rev.  Robert  O.,   199,  202, 

203,  220. 
Dwight,  Mrs.  Mary  B.,  199,  208. 

East  India  Company,  when  char- 
tered, 22;  its  eailv  disposition,  22; 
subsequent  hostility,  23;  its  toler- 
ance and  protection,  46. 

Ecclesiastical  Union  formed  at  Bom- 
bay, 297. 

Eckard,  Rev.  James  R.,  171,  197. 

Eckard,  Mrs.  Margaret  E.,  171. 

Ellora,  the  excavations  at,  94. 

Elphinstone,  Hon.  Mount  Stuart,  60, 

?*• 

Embarkation,  a  missionary,  131. 

Encouraging  facts,  272. 

Encouraging  prospect,  285. 

English,  Jaffna  occupied  by  the, 
135. 

English  Friend,  generous  aid  from, 
281. 

English  language,  consequences  of 
teaching  the,  176. 

Evangelical  influence,  amount  of, 
393. 

Evangelical  polic}',  results  of  an, 
206. 

Evangelist,  labors  of,  316. 

Evangelists,  native,  against  ordain- 
ing, 245. 

Ewing,  Rev.  Grenville,  31. 


Fairbank,  Rev.  Samuel  B.,  109,  117, 
244,  268. 

Fairbank,  Mrs.  Abbia  A.,  109,  120. 

Fairbank,  Mrs.  Mary  B.,  268. 

Farrar,  Miss  Cynthia,  75,  294,  311. 

Fires,  destructive,  169,  175. 

Fletcher,  Rev.  Adam  H.,  187. 

Fletcher,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  W.,  187. 

Ford,  Rev.  George,  211. 

Ford,  Mrs.  Ann  Jennet,  211. 

French,  Rev.  Ozro,  99,  109,  117. 

French,  Mrs.  Jane  II.,  99,  109. 

Frere,  Sir  Bartlc,  Governor  of  Bom- 
bay, visit  of,  294. 

Frost,  Rev.  Edmund,  64,  69. 

Frost,  Mrs.  Clarissa,  64,  75. 

Fuller,  Rev.  Andrew,  26,  39. 

Funds,  difficulty  in  remitting,  141. 

Garrett,  James,  62,  82. 

Garrett,  Mrs.  Philomela,  62. 

Godaveri  Valley,  tour  in  the,  266. 

Gosavi,  a  converted,  271,  318. 

Gospel  benevolence  illustrated,  174. 

Government,  enlightened  policy  of, 
227. 

Government  connection  with  idola- 
try, 201. 

Government  patronage  of  education, 
123,  179,  200,  209. 

Governor  of  Bombay,  visit  from,  281. 

Governor  of  Ceylon,  testimony  of, 
191. 

Grant,  Charles,  23,  31,  44,  46. 

Graves,  Rev.  Allen,  56,  58,  74,  89, 
91,  102,  110,  268. 

Graves,  Mrs.  Mary,  58,  89,  124. 

Graves,  Miss  Orphah,  79. 

Green,  Dr.  Samuel  F.,  187,  192,  252. 

Green,  Mrs.  Margaret  P.,  413. 

Griffin,  Rev.  Dr.,  3. 

Gunga,  a  native  teacher,  65. 

Gurus,  Mahar,  100,  106. 

Haldane,  Mr.,  30. 


438 


INDEX. 


Hall,  Rev.  Gordon,  5,  7,  19.  55,  56, 

60;  his  death  and   character,  70; 

his  place  of  burial,  79. 
Hall,  Mrs.  Margaret,  56,  70,  73. 
Hall,  Rev.  Alanson  C,  197. 
Hall,  Mrs.  Frances  A.,  197. 
Harding,  Rev.  Charles,  268,  279. 
Harding,  Mrs.  Julia  M.,  268,  305. 
Harding,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  D.,  410. 
Harington,  Hon.  John,  18. 
Haripunt,  98,  115,  279,  296. 
Harmony,  ship,  7,  10. 
Hartley,  Miss  Carrie,  392. 
Hastings,  Marquis  of,  44,  49. 
Hastings,  Rev.  Eurotas  P.,  187,  252. 
Hastings,  Mrs.  Anna  C,  187. 
Hazen,    Kev.  Allen,  109,  118,    244, 

296. 
Hazen,   Mrs.  Martha  R.,   109,   118, 

296. 
Hazen,  Rev.  Harvey  C,  392. 
Hazen,  Mrs.  Ida  Julia,  392. 
Heathenism,  decline  of,  404. 
Helpers,  native,  value  of,  185. 
Herrick,  Rev.  James,  208,  259. 
Herrick,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  K.,  208. 
Hitchcock,  Rev.  Milan  H.,  336. 
Hitchcock,  Mrs.  Lucy  A.,  336. 
Hoisington,  Rev.  Henry  R.,  171, 177, 

183,  190,  196,  197. 
Hoisington,  Mrs.  Nancy,  171,  190. 
Holmes,  Rev.  Dr.,  3. 
Horton,  Sir  Robert  William,  opens 

Jaffna  to  the  mission,  171. 
Howland,    Rev.    William   W.,  187, 

252,  340,  342. 
Howland,  Mrs.  Susan  R  ,  187. 
Howland,  Rev.  Samuel  W.,  354. 
Howland,  Mrs.  Mary  E.,  354. 
Howland,  Rev.  William  S.,  354. 
Howland,  Mrs.  E.  R.,  354. 
Hubbard,  Mr.  George  W.,  79. 
Hubbard,  Mrs.  Emma,  79. 
Hume,  Rev.  Robert  W.,  99,  109, 125 ; 

his  character,  125,  126. 


Hume,  Mrs.  Hannah  D.,  99, 124, 125. 
Hunt,  Mr.  Phineas  R.,  234,  235. 
Hunt,  Mrs.  Abigail  N.,  239. 
Hurd,  Rev.  Isaac  N.,  229,  230. 
Hurd,  Mrs.  Mary  C,  229. 
Hutchings,  Rev.  Samuel,  171,  183, 
193,  225. 

Idolatry,  evidence  of  decline  in,  385; 

one  of  its  chief  supports,  387. 
Index  to  the  volume,  435. 
India  missions,  rise  of,  4. 
India,  Southern,  delineated,  194. 
Innes,  Mr.,  31. 
Interesting  facts,  270,  288. 
Isle  of  France,  experiences  at,  11-13. 
Itinerant  preaching,  213,  318,  352, 

388-391. 

Jaffna,  by  what  missions  preoccu- 
pied, 132;  sudden  relapse  to  idola- 
try, 136;  described,  137. 

Jalna,  a  native  Christian  society  at, 
92,  97 ;  temporary  station  at,  97. 

Jesuit  Mission,  the,  214-219. 

Johnstone,  Sir  Alexander,  129. 

Judson,  Rev.  Adoniram,  5,  7,  12,  13, 

Judson,  Mrs.  Nancy,  7,  10,  13,  54. 

Kader  Yar  Khan,  the  first  convert. 

59. 
Karens,  mission  to,  how  it  arose,  14. 
Kimball,  Miss  Abigail  N.,  79,  91. 
Kirttan,   applied  to   Christian  use, 

293,  318. 
Knight,  Rev.  Mr.,  75. 
Kolapur  discontinued  as   a  station, 

279.     See  Wilder. 

Large-hearted  Bishop,  a,  170. 
Lathrop,  Miss  Jane  E.,  180. 
Law  Christianized,  116. 
Lawrence,  Rev.  John  Jay,  175,  197, 

208. 
Lawrence,  Mrs.  Mary  H,  175,  197. 


INDEX. 


439 


Legacy  at  Bombay,  78. 

Leipsie  Missionary  Society,  206. 

Liberality,  seasonable,  98. 

Little,  Rev.  Charles,  211,  259. 

Little,  Mrs.  Amelia,  21. 

Little,  Mrs.  Susan  II.,  414. 

Lodge,  Jordan,  160. 

London   Missionary  Society,  6,  30, 

38. 
Lord,  Rev.  Nathan  L.,  193,  252,  302, 

394. 
Lord,  Mrs.  Laura  W.,  193,  302. 

McMillan,  Rev.  George  W.,  208. 

McMillan,  Mrs.  Rebecca  N.,  208. 

Madras  Mission,  its  origin,  220; 
early  proceedings,  221;  summary, 
229;  its  relinquishment,  234;  its 
printing  establishment,  222,  226, 
231,  234. 

Madura  (Jollectorate  described,  194, 
196. 

Madura  Mission,  chapters  on  the, 
194,  25i),  364,  385. 

Madura  Mission,  the  preliminary 
measures,  196;  Mr.  Poor's  re- 
moval to,  198;  Christian  congre- 
gations instituted,  207;  extent  of 
its  field,  213;  the  Conference, 
259. 

Madura  City,  197,  198. 

Madura  English  school,  261. 

Madura  Seminary,  260,  373. 

Madura  Home  Missionary  Society, 
403. 

Madura  Widows'  Mite  Society,  403. 

Mahabuleshwar,  visited  by  Gordon 
Hall,  69. 

Mahars,  99,  101,  105. 

Mahratta  Mission,  chapters  on,  47, 
74,  97,  118,  244,  266,  293,  307: 
its  plan  of  polity,  51;  method  of 
support,  52 ;  obstacles  to  be  over- 
come, 52;  the  Conference,  244; 
results  of  Conference,  251;  Jubilee 


meeting,  284;  churches  in,  293; 
summary,  320. 

Mahrattas,  their  population  and 
country,  47  ;  their  marauding 
character,  48 ;  their  subjugation,  50. 

Mahratta  Horse,  the,  48. 

Malcolm,  Sir  John,  74. 

Malleappa,  Francis,  159. 

Manepy,  destructive  fire  at,  169. 

Mang  caste,  conversion  in  the,  106; 
singular  intolerance,  107;  salutary 
discipline,  108. 

Maps  illustrating  the  Mahratta  mis- 
sion, 47;  the  Ceylon  mission,  129; 
the  Madura  mission,  194. 

Maps,  note  explanatory  of,  v. 

Marriage,  an  influential  native.  160. 

Marriages,  Christian,  210. 

Married  missionaries,  why  employed, 
53;  the  popular  opinion,  53;  that 
opinion  wrong,  54;  their  compar- 
ative value,  55. 

Marshman,  Dr.  Joshua,  32. 

Marfitee,  104. 

Marshman's  Life  of  Carey  referred 
to,  25,  28,  33,  36,  39. 

Marquis  of  Hastings,  favorable 
agency  of,  44. 

Medical  Department,  192,  212,  214, 
347,  394. 

Memorial  Volume  referred  to,  2. 

Meigs,  Rev.  Benjamin  C,  130,  140, 
164;  his  death,  340. 

Meigs,  Mrs.  Sarah  Maria,  140. 

Mills,  Rev.  Samuel  J.,  5,  6. 

Mills,  Rev.  Cyrus  T.,  188,  190,  193. 

Mills,  Mrs.  Susan  L.,  188,  193. 

Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  strange 
apathy  of,  26,  28. 

Minor,  Mr.  Eastman  S.,  171,  175, 
192. 

Minor.  Mrs.  Lucy  B.,  171. 

Minor,  Mrs.  Judith  M.,  192. 

Minto,  Lord,  45. 

Mission  Chapel  Congregation,  75. 


440 


INDEX. 


Mission  Compound,  114. 
Mission  policy,  a  lesson  on,  118. 
Missionaries,  ordination  of  the  first, 

6 ;  their  experience  at  Calcutta,  7- 

10;  ecclesiastical  relations  of,  250; 

a  general  list  of,  407. 
Missionaries,  children  of,  a  hopeful 

prospect,  354. 
Missionary,  a  pagan,  210. 
Missionary    service,    extraordinary 

length  of,  204. 
Missionary  Societies,  English,  when 

formed,  28,  30,  38. 
Missionary     conferences,     241-265 ; 

Baptist,  263 ;  general,  264. 
Missionary   comity,  a  great  breach 

of,  320. 
Money,  William  T.,  14,  19,  64. 
Mooyart,  J.  N.,  130. 
Morse,  Dr.  Jedidiah,  6. 
Mullens,  Rev.  Dr.,  quoted,  244. 
Munger,  Rev.  Sendol   B.,  79,    118, 

244,  268,  305. 
Munger,  Mrs.  Maria  L.,  79, 109. 
Munger,  Mrs.  Mary  E. 
Munger,  Mrs.  Sarah  S.  C. 
Mutiny,    influence   of   the   Vellore, 

274. 
Muzzy,  Rev.  Clarendon  F.,  199,  203, 
■  259. 

Muzzy,  Mrs.  Semantha  B.,  199,  209. 
Muzzy,  Mrs.  Mary  A.nn. 

Nana  Sahib,  mention  of,  50. 

Narayan,  98,  99. 

Native  Pastorate,  movement  for  a, 
300. 

Native  pastor,  first  in  Madura  mis- 
sion, ordination  of,  261. 

Native  preachers,  201,  213,  214. 

Nepean,  Sir  Evan,  14,  18,  19,  58, 
60. 

Newell,  Rev.  Samuel,  5,  7,  11,  58, 
62, 129,  130. 

Newell,  Mrs.  Harriet,  12,  54. 


Newell,  Mrs.  Philomela,  58. 
Nichols,  Rev.  John,  56,  58,  64. 
Nichols,  Mrs.  Elizabeth,  56,  75. 
Niles,  Nathaniel,  160. 
Norris,  Miss  Sarah  F.,  318. 
North,  Alfred,  203. 
North,  Mrs.  Minerva,  203. 
Nott,  Rev.  Samuel,  5,  6,  7,  52,  55. 
Nott,  Mrs.  Roxana  P.,  7,  52. 
Noyes,  Rev.  Joseph  T.,   188,   193, 

259. 
Noyes,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  A.,  188,  193 

374. 

Oodooville,  seminary  at,  150,  186, 
256. 

Ordination  of  missionaries,  6. 

Ordination  of  native  pastors,  the  first 
in  Western  India,  245 ;  the  first  in, 
Ceylon,  254;  the  first  in  the  Ma- 
dura mission,  261. 

Oriental  Christian  Spectator,  78. 

Ottley,  Sir  Richard,  a  patron  of  the 
Batticotta  Seminary,  149. 

Palmer,  Dr.  Henry  K.,  392. 

Palmer,  Mrs.  Flora  D.,  392. 

Parish,  Rev.  Dr.,  3. 

Park,  Rev.  Charles  W.,  308,  324. 

Park,  Mrs.  Ann  Maria,  308. 

Pastors,  native,  ordination  of  seven, 
304. 

Pastors,  native,  245,  248,  249,  254, 
293,  324,  353,  354. 

Pasumalai  Seminary,  209,  212,  398. 

Penfield,  Rev.  Thornton  B.,  392, 402. 

Penfield,  Mrs.  Charlotte  E.,  392. 

Permander,  Nicholas,  160. 

Perry,  Rev.  John  M.  S.,  171,  179. 

Perry,  Mrs.  Harriett  J.,  171,  179. 

Persecution  and  government  protec- 
tion, 285,  307. 

Persecution,  Roman  Catholic,  187. 

Philadelphia,  generous  contribution 
at,  7. 


INDEX. 


441 


Pindarees,  their  plundering  excur- 
sions, 48;  their  subjugation,  49. 

Piety,  on  native,  240,  247. 

Poetry,  Tamil  fondness  for,  371; 
specimen  of,  372. 

Poona,  Dr.  Seelye's  English  lectures 
in,  323. 

Pollock,  Miss  Sarah,  392. 

Poor,  Rev.  Daniel,  130, 140,  163, 164, 
177,  182,  187,  188,  197,  198. 

Poor,  Mrs.  Susan,  130,  145. 

Poor,  Mrs    Ann  K.,  163. 

Portuguese  in  Jaffna,  132. 

Preachers,  native,  115,  159;  talent 
of,  250. 

Preaching  in  Tamil,  139. 

Preaching  tours,  78,  89,  267. 

Preaching,  itinerant,  213,  222,  269. 

Preface,  i. 

Preparandi,  212. 

Tress,  at  Bombay,  5G,  111,  112.  123. 

Press,  in  Ceylon,  142,  345,  346. 

Press,  in  Madras,  222,  231,  234. 

Printer   banished  from  Ceylon,  143. 

Printing,  69,  78,  111,  180.  222,  221, 
229,  234,  345. 

Progress,  evidence  of,  80,  257. 

Protestant  place  of  worship  for  na- 
tive Christians,  the  first  in  West- 
ern India,  63. 

Prudential  Committee,  the  first  to 
missionaries,  7. 

Publications,  general  statement  of, 
417. 

Puthukotai,  211. 

Quick,  Rev.  James,  336. 
Quick,  Mrs.  Maria  E.,  336. 

Railways,  a  vast  system  of,  121-123. 

Ramkrishnapunt,  103,  115,  279;  his 
appeal  for  self-supporting  churches, 
300;  his  pastoral  labors.  319. 

Ramsey,  Rev.  William,  79,  89,  91. 

Ramsey,  Mrs.  Mary,  79,  91. 


Read,  Rev.  Hollis,  79,  87,  89,  90,  92. 
Read,  Mrs.  Caroline,  79,  92. 
Religious  toleration,  important  step 

in,  283. 
Kendall,  Rev.  John,  208,  259,  399. 
Kendall,  Mrs.  Jane  15.,  208,  374,  394. 
Kendall,  .Miss  Mary  E.,  392,  398. 
Revivals  of  religion  in  Ceylon,  152- 

158;  in  the  Madura  Mission,  376- 

383. 
Revival  of  religion  at  Ahmeduuggur, 

and  Bombay,  316,  317. 
Revivals  of  religion  in  the  Madura 

Mission,  212. 
Rice,  Rev.  Luther,  5,  7,  13. 
Richards,  Rev.  James,  5,  130,  161. 
Richards,  Mrs.  Sarah,  130,  164 
Roman  Catholics  in  Bombay,  77. 

Samuel,  Old,  375. 
Sampson,  William  C,  79,  88,  91. 
Sampson,  Mrs.  Mary  L.,  79,  88,  91. 
Sanders,  Rev.  Marshall  1).,  193,  252i 

348,  355. 
Sanders,  Mrs.  Georgiana,  193,  349. 
Sanders,  Mrs.  Catharine  Z.,  412. 
Sanitarium,  Madura,  195. 
Satara,  station  at,  116. 
Scene,  an  affecting,  178. 
Schools  as  converting   institutions, 

152. 
Schools  in  the  Mahratta  mission,  56, 

58,  61,  65,  74,  77,  79,  105,  113,  114» 

117,  123,  246,  26!). 
Schools  in  Ceylon,  138,  140,  149, 152, 

158,  164,  169,   176,  177,   178,   185, 

254,  328-335. 
Schools  in  the  Madura  Mission,  199, 

200,  209,  213,  254,  260,  393. 
Schools  in  the  Madras  Mission,  229. 
Schools  in  the   Arcot   .Mission,  238 

239. 
Scott,  Dr.  Thomas,  mention  ,,f.  2">. 
Scriptures,    translation    of,    56,   75; 

publication  of,  109,  110,  228. 


442 


INDEX. 


Scudder,  Dr.   John,  140,    183,    211, 

220,  221,  224,  227,  229,  230. 
Scudder,  Mrs.  Harriet,  140,  211,  224, 

228. 
Scudder,  Rev.  William  W-,  187,  236. 
Scudder,  Mrs.  Catharine  E.,  187,  189. 
Scudder,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  O.,  233. 
Scudder,  Rev.  Henry  Martyn,  225, 

228,  236. 
Scudder,  Mrs.  Fanny  L.,  225. 
Scudder,  Rev.  Joseph,  230,  236. 
Scudder,  Mrs.  Sarah  A.,  236. 
Scudder,  Rev.  Ezekiel,  236. 
Scudder,  Mrs.  Sarah  R.,  236. 
Scudder,  Rev.  Jared,  236. 
Scudder,  Mrs.  Julia  C,  236. 
Scudder,  Miss  Louisa,  236. 
Scudder,    Rev.    David   C,    374;  his 

sudden  death,  383. 
Scudder,  Mrs.  Harriet  L.,  374. 
Seelye,  Dr.  J.  H.,  his  visit  and  labors 

in  India,  221. 
Seminary  in  Madura  mission,  209. 
Serampore,  a  missionary  refuge,  32. 
Sheldon.  Dr.  Charles  S.,  211,  269. 
Sheldon,  Mrs.  Henrietta  M.,  211. 
Sisson,  Miss  Elizabeth,  392. 
Slavery  in  Jaffna,  163. 
Smead,  Daniel,  160. 
Smith,  Rev.  John  C,  182,  252,  355. 
Smith,  Mrs.  Eunice  T-,  182. 
Smith,  Mrs.  Mary,  182,  202,  355. 
Smith,  Rev.  Thomas  S.,  354. 
Smith,  Mrs.  Emily  M.,  354. 
Smith,  Miss  Rosella  A.,  392. 
Society  for  Propagation  of  the  Gos- 
pel,199. 
Solapur  as  a  station,  290.  307;  the 

church  self-supporting,  319. 
Song,  native  service  of,  improvement 

in,  89. 
Spaulding,  Rev.  Levi,  140,  183,  187, 

196,  252,  352. 
Spring,  Dr.  Samuel,  6. 
Steele,  Dr.  John,  199,  200. 


Steele,  Mrs.  Mary,  199,  202. 
Stone,  Rev.  Cyrus,  75. 
Stone,  Mrs.  Atossa,  75,  89. 
Subjects  discussed  in  the  Ceylon  Con- 
ference, 252. 
Sympathy,  illustration  of  native,  126. 

Taylor,  Rev.  Horace  S.,  203,  212, 
259,  400;  death  and  character  of, 
394. 

Taylor,  Mrs.  Martha  S.,  203,  374 

Taylor,  Miss  Martha  S.,  392. 

Teignmouth,  Lord,  mention  of,  39. 

Theological  class  at  Ahmednuggur, 
282. 

Thomas,  Dr.  John,  28. 

Thomason,  Rev.  Thomas,  7,  19. 

Tissera,  Gabriel,  154. 

Todd,  Rev.  William,  171,  175,  196, 
200. 

Todd,  Mrs.  Lucy,  171,  197. 

Todd,  Mrs.  Clarissa,  199. 

Toleration  secured  for  India,  42;  in- 
creased, 102. 

Townsend,  Miss  Harriett  E.,  349, 
351. 

Turner,  Bishop,  his  catholic  spirit, 
170. 

Tracy,  Rev.  William,  199,  398. 

Tracy,  Mrs.  Emily  F.,  199. 

Tranquebar  Mission,  204,  205. 

Translations  of  Scripture,  221,  228. 

Twistleton,  Rev.  Mr.,  129. 

Udney,  Hon.  George,  19,  30. 

Vellore,  labors  at,  223. 

Village  churches,  necessity  of,  115; 
development  of,  245. 

Village  stations,  difficulty  in  form- 
ing, 246. 

Village  schools,  260. 

Villagers,  Christian  reception  by, 
267. 

Vishnu,  104. 


INDEX. 


443 


Visits  to  Missions,  occasional  neces- 
sity for,  241. 

Wade,  Lieutenant,  17. 

War  with  England,  effect  of,  7. 

Ward,  Dr.  William,  32. 

Ward,  Dr.  Nathan,  171,  203. 

Ward,  Mrs.  Hannah  W.,  171,  203. 

Ward,  Rev.  F.  D.  W.,  199,  225. 

Ward,  Mrs.  Jane  Shaw,  199. 

Waring,  Major  Scott,  38. 

Warren,  Kev.  Edward,  130, 139, 140. 

Washburn,    Kev.    George    T.,  374, 

398. 
Washburn,  Mrs.  Eliza  E.,  374. 
Webb,  Kev.  Edward,  208,  259. 
Webb,    Mrs.    Nancy    Allyn    Foote, 

208. 
Webster,  Elijah  A.,  79,  90. 
Webster,  Mrs.  Marietta,  79,  90. 
Welles,  Rev.  Spencer  R.,  308. 
Welles,  Mrs.  Mary,  308. 
Wellesley,  Marquis  of,  34,  36. 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  48. 
White,  Rev.  Charles,  373. 
White,  Mrs.  Anna  Maria,  373. 
Whittelsey,    Rev.   Samuel    G.,    182, 

183,  186,  187. 
"Whittelsey,  Mrs.  Anna  C,  182. 
Widows,  marriage  of,  312. 
Wilberforce,  William,  31,  41,  46. 


Wilder,  Rev.  Royal  G.,  109, 115, 117 

118,  121,  244,  268,  -273. 
Wilder,  Mrs.  Eliza  J.,  109. 
Wilderness,  perils  in  the,  223. 
Wilson,  Rev.  Dr  ,  80. 
Winslow,  Rev.  Miron,  140,  104,  173- 

220,  225,  228,  230,  231,  232. 
Winslow,  Mrs.  Harriet  L.,  140,  172. 
Winslow,  Mrs.  Catharine  W.,  221. 
Winslow,  Mrs.  Anne  S.,  225. 
Winslow,  Mrs.  Mary  B.,  208. 
Winslow,  Mrs.  Ellen  A.,  231,  234. 
Winsor,  Rev.  Richard,  308. 
Winsor,  Mrs.  Mary  C.,  308. 
Women,    native,    their    prospective 

influence,  396;  field  for  them,  400. 
Wood,  Rev.  William,  109,  110,  124, 

244. 
Wood,  Mrs.  Lucy  Maria,  109,  116, 

120. 
Wood,  Mrs.  Eliza  Maria,  279. 
Wood,  Mrs.  Eliza  W.,  410. 
Woodward,  Rev.  Henry,  75, 140,  173. 
Woodward,    Mrs.    Lydia,    140,   164, 

174. 
Worcester,  Dr.  Samuel,  4,  6. 
Wyman,  Rev.  Robert,  182,  186. 
Wyman,  Mrs.  Martha  E.,  182,  186. 

Yesuba,  115,  276,  277,  278. 
York,  Mr.  William,  374. 


END    OF    TIIK    VOLUME. 


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